Jeanne Duval

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Jeanne Duval
Duval as Baudelaire's Mistress, Reclining
Born	Possibly Jeanne Duval, Jeanne Prosper, or Jeanne Lemer c. 1820 Jacmel, Haiti
Died	1862 Paris, France

Jeanne Duval (French, pronounced [ʒan dyˈval]) was a mixed race actress, dancer, and muse to French poet and art critic Charles Baudelaire, for twenty years. They met in 1842, when Duval left Haiti for France, and the two remained together, albeit stormily, for the next two decades. Duval is said to have been the woman whom Baudelaire loved most, in his life,^[1] after his mother.

Poems of Baudelaire's which are dedicated to Duval or pay her homage are: Le balcon, Parfum exotique, La chevelure, Sed non satiata, Le serpent qui danse, and Une charogne.

Baudelaire called her "mistress of mistresses" and his "Vénus Noire" ("Black Venus"), and it is believed that, to him, Duval symbolized the dangerous beauty, sexuality, and mystery of a Creole woman in mid-nineteenth century France.^[2] She lived at 6, rue de la Femme-sans-tête (Street of the Headless Woman), near the hôtel Pimodan.^[3]

Manet, a friend of Baudelaire, painted Duval in his 1862 painting Baudelaire's Mistress, Reclining. ^[4] She was, by this time, going blind.^[5]

Duval died of syphilis, later in 1862, and Baudelaire died five years later, also of syphilis.^[6] It has been said that Duval was addicted to drugs;^[7] whether this is true or not is unknown, but it is claimed that Baudelaire was addicted to both opium and hashish. Other sources also claim that Duval survived Baudelaire.^[8] Nadar claimed to have seen Duval, last, in 1870-- by this time, she was on crutches, suffering heavily from syphilis.^[9]

[edit] Popular Culture

Jeanne Duval serves as a main character in Caribbean author Nalo Hopkinson's, The Salt Roads a work of historic fiction, and as the main character for the film.^[10] In addition, she is the inspiration for a song called "Street of Roses" (Улица Роз) from then-Soviet heavy metal band Aria (Ария), on their 1987 release "Asphalt Hero" (Герой Асфальта), and for the short story "Black Venus" by Angela Carter. The film My Heart Laid Bare, currently in production at Disruptive Element Films, is about the life of Jeanne Duval.^[11]