Blanche d'Antigny

Blanche d'Antigny (9 May 1840 – 30 June 1874) was a French singer, actress and courtesan whose fame today rests chiefly on the fact that Émile Zola used her as the principal model for his novel Nana. She was one of the most famous courtesans in Paris during the Second Empire.

Early life Blanche d'Antigny was born Marie Ernestine Antigny in Martizay, France. She proudly kept the nickname given to her by other girls at the convent, who called her Blanche due to her beautiful complexion.

At age 14, she ran off to Bucharest with a lover whom she then abandoned. When she eventually made her return to Paris, she worked in the circus and in various dance halls. thumb Penitent Magdalene (1858) by Baudry, modeled by d'Antigny. She also posed for multiple artists, most famously appearing half-nude in Paul Baudry's Penitent Magdalene, which depicts the repentant saint Mary Magdalene.

D'Antigny became the mistress of the Russian police chief Mesentzov who took her to St. Petersburg in 1862 and in 1863 she was forced to leave Russia by special order of the Tsarina. Between 1870 and 1873, d'Antigny played the leading roles in many of the hits of Hervé, Offenbach, and their disciples (, L'œil crevé, La Vie parisienne, , etc.) . Her lovers showered her with gifts and spent enormous sums of money on her, but she was unable to hold on to any of it.

D'Antigny was a charming woman who was able to make many men of high status become infatuated with her. D'Antigny returned from this tour infected with typhoid fever and later died. Her early death at age 34 led to her life being romanticized in French culture. Caroline Letessier, a fellow actress and courtesan, organized her funeral and paid for the expenses. D'Antigny is buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.