The Three Top Courtesans of the Belle Époque

Professor Andrew Lear is a world-renowned expert on sexuality in art and the author of the best-known book on sexuality in Greek vase-painting.  He is the founder of Oscar Wilde Tours, the gay history tour company, and Shady Ladies Tours, the woman's history tour company.

Andrew Lear

Come learn about the three leading ladies of the racy side of Paris' most glittering epoch!

<p><em><strong>Can't make the live event?  No problem!  You can watch the video recording at your convenience for 2 weeks.</strong></em></p><p>Courtesans—the elegant ladies who ruled over the shadowy side of high society in so many cultures—were never more prominent in any country than in France, and never more than in that splendid period up to World War I when Paris society was at its frothiest, and Paris served as a kind of high-end Las Vegas (plus Rodeo Drive) for the European aristocracy.  Indeed so much of we know and think about these women comes from this period:  the words used for them (cocottes, grandes horizontales etc), the paintings of them (Manet’s Nana for example), the novels about them (The Lady of the Camellias, Gigi), the operas in which characters based on them star (Manon Lescaut, La Traviata).</p><p> </p><p>So who were these women, the women who fascinated le tout Paris at the height of its world importance? Today we will present 3 of them, 3 of the crème de la crème of Paris’ demi-monde.</p><p> </p><p>La Païva, the Russian Jewish girl who rose through the ranks through a short marriage to a fake Portugese  viscount, to eventually become a real German Countess, with among other things a fabulous palazzo on the Champs Elysées with a curved yellow marble staircase—built to match her famous yellow diamonds--today one of Paris’ swankiest gentlemen’s clubs.</p><p> </p><p>Caroline Otéro, a Spanish dancer and star at the Folies Bergères, the lover to a whole series of kings over whom supposedly six men committed suicide and two died dueling over her, and whose breasts supposedly served as the model for the twin cupolas of the Carlton Hotel in Cannes.</p><p> </p><p>And finally, Valtesse de la Bigne, the model for Zola’s Nana, famous above all for her business acumen--i.e. her capacity for fleecing her lovers and investing the proceeds—and her fabulous collections, including portrayals of herself by artists such as Manet and above all a famous bed which she had made for herself (for her studio, as it were) for over $1,000,000 in today’s money and which today forms the centerpiece of the courtesan room in the museum of decorative arts.</p><p> </p><p>Come learn about these fascinating women who started life on the wrong side of the road but used their looks and their talents to become three of the reigning celebs of Paris in its greatest moment!</p>

<h3>ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:</h3><p>Parisian native <strong>Edith de Belleville</strong> was an attorney at law for many years, but her passion for Paris and its history led her back to university (at the age of 50) to get her official tour guide license. Deeply inspired by Parisian women of the past, Edith decided to write a book, in French, entitled<em> The Beautiful Rebels of Paris</em> (Belles et Rebelles, Editions du 81 ). Edith also teaches Jewish heritage in Paris at University Gustave Eiffel (Marne- la- Vallée), and has just finished writing a book in English which will be published soon, <em>La Vie Parisienne, adventures of a modern- day Parisienne</em>. </p><p><strong>Prof. Andrew Lear</strong> is a renowned expert on same-sex relations in Greek and Roman antiquity. During his academic career, he taught at Harvard, Pomona College, and NYU. In recent years, he has founded Oscar Wilde Tours, the LGBTQ history and culture tour company and Shady Ladies Tours, a women's history and culture tour company. He is also working with actor/author Stephen Fry on a podcast about the "Scandals and Secrets of London's National Portrait Gallery."</p>

<h2>FAQs</h2><h3>When will the Zoom invite come?</h3><p>The Zoom invite will be in the CONFIRMATION EMAIL from your order—IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE IT IN YOUR CONFIRMATION EMAIL PLEASE MESSAGE US IMMEDIATELY. Subsequent to this, the Zoom invite will be sent to your email address at 48hrs, 2hrs, and 10mins before the event. PLEASE CHECK YOUR SPAM AND SOCIAL FOLDERS IF YOU DO NOT SEE THE ZOOM INVITE IN YOUR INBOX.</p><h3>If I can't make the live recording, can I watch the event at another time?</h3><p>The event will be recorded, and all ticket holders will receive a link to the recording by email the evening after the presentation, with a password to access it.  It will be available to view for 2 weeks after the live event. If you do not receive the link to the recording a couple of hours after the live event please email us—sometimes Eventbrite emails can get lost in spam/social folders.</p><h3>What time zone is the event scheduled in?</h3><p>The event is scheduled for 2pm EST (i.e. New York time). You can watch it in any time zone but please adjust to the time zone you are in.</p><h3>Refund policy?</h3><p>Refunds are available up to the start time of the event. After the start time, refunds are only available if you have been unable to access the event.</p>

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The Three Top Courtesans of the Belle Époque

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