Superb portrait of Manon Loty, by Reutlinger, published by Clément, Tournier et Cie of Geneva Switzerland, circa 1900.
Mlle.
Loty was such an incredible beauty. We adore this chignon! This is one
out of a series by Reutlinger. Images from this series were very popular
as evidenced by the fact that some of them are quite common even today.
This particular image, on the other hand, is a far less common one out
of the series, though not by any means rare.
We know from reading
in histories not concerning her directly, that Mlle. Loty was a popular
entertainer in her time. Also, we know that she was often seen at
Maxime's, the famous Parisian haunt of the fabulously wealthy royals and
industrialists who entered into "arrangements" with the Belle Epoque
courtesans of Paris who frequented the place.
In an article
appearing in a 1910 issue of Pearson's magazine, that concerned the
Marguerite Steinheil case, in which Mme. Steinheil was accused (though
afterwards acquitted) of the murder of her husband and stepmother, and
who previously, while already married to the painter Steinheil, was
found with the president of France, who had apparently died of
excitement as she was making love to him (yes, it is QUITE a story),
Manon Loty's name was mentioned as a casual aside. The article's author
held her up as an example of a "mercenary" woman, in an attempt to
excite sympathy on the part of the reader, for Mme. Steinheil.
The
significance of this is twofold. First, by dropping her name casually
in a popular American magazine, the writer tells us that Mlle. Loty was
very well known in 1910, even in the United States.
Second, to
use her in an attempt to cast in a positive light a married woman
previously found in flagrante delicto with the recently deceased French
president, and then later suspected of a double murder, would suggest
that Mlle. Loty was also very well known for some pretty scandalous
behavior! So, it is surprising to us that we have only found indirect
references to her, and no solid biographical information.
Well, we'll keep searching.