Louise Marie Madeleine Fontaine
Louise-Marie-Madeleine Guillaume de Fontaine (after marriage known as Madame Dupin; 28 October 1706 – 20 November 1799) was a French saloniste. A woman of spirit and famous for her beauty, between 1733 and 1782 she hosted a famous literary salon in Paris and owned the Château de Chenonceau, which was known as a center of the most famous French philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment.
Life[edit]
Youth[edit]
Louise de Fontaine was born in Paris, in the parish of Saint-Roch, on 28 October 1706.[1] Her baptism act was as follows:
The , in the Île Saint-Louis in Paris from 1732 to 1739. This hotel was jointly bought on 12 April 1732 by Claude Dupin with his mother-in-law, Manon Dancourt. This place was the winter resident of the Dupins in Paris. The Hôtel Lambert was sold 31 March 1739 as part of the estate of Samuel Bernard to Marquis Florent-Claude du Châtelet-Lomont and his wife Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil.
Hôtel Lambert
Hôtel de Latour-Maubourg, located at nº 10 of in Paris from 1740 to 1741. The Hôtel was leased by Claude Dupin, pending the completion of the works in his next Hôtel in Plâtrière street. During this period, Madame Dupin staying at Chateau de Chenonceau, acquired in 1733.
Place Vendôme
Hôtel de Vins, in the Plâtrière street (now Jean-Jacques-Rousseau street), dependent of the parish of . The Dupins loved this Hôtel and they settled there after two years of works. It was in this house that Jean-Jacques Rousseau was introduced to Madame Dupin, in March 1743. On 22 February 1758, Claude Dupin and his wife finally buy this place to Marc Antoine Bouret, receiver general of finances, for the amount of 190,000 livres.[45] Claude Dupin dies in this Hôtel on 25 February 1769.[46] The Hôtel de Vins was a promised inheritance to his eldest son, Louis-Claude Dupin de Francueil after the death of his stepmother Madame Dupin; however, he died before her on 6 June 1786, so the property finally passed to his daughter, Suzanne-Madeleine Dupin de Francueil, from the estate of Madame Dupin in 1799.
Saint-Eustache, Paris
A house in bought in 1752, used by the Dupins as a summer residence. Madame Dupin was still owner of this place in 1792.
Clichy-sur-Seine
The , bought on 9 June 1733 by Claude Dupin from the Duke of Bourbon. Madame Dupin went with her husband in the fall of each year to the banks of Cher river. After the death of her husband in 1769, Madame Dupin visits several times this place and prolongs her stay in Touraine. She settled permanently in Chenonceau during the French Revolution, on 11 September 1792. Madame Dupin dies in this jewel of the Loire Valley on 20 November 1799.
Château de Chenonceau
Hôtel acquired on 23 November 1748 by Claude Dupin and Manon Dancourt to the Louis Fontenettes in the lower town of Blanc, on the market square in front of the Augustinian convent, for 8,000 livres. The Château-Naillac was uncomfortable (previously served as prison), so this residence welcomes the new owners of the marquisate, during their esporadic visits to Berry. The Hôtel will be renamed "House of the Marquise" in memory of Madame Dupin, who came only a few times to Blanc.
Bailli
Madame Dupin had the following properties:
Madame Dupin contributes to the writings of her husband Claude Dupin, author of a book on two volumes, "Reflections on some parts of a book called the Spirit of the laws" in 1749, refuting the arguments advanced by Montesquieu in his study "" published the previous year, in 1748. Claude Dupin defends the bankers attacked by Montesquieu, while taking care not to name the philosopher and observing for himself the anonymity. Indeed, Montesquieu has a high protector, Madame de Pompadour. The reaction of Montesquieu wasn't waited and asked his protector to intervene in his favor.[47][48][49][50] With his help, Montesquieu could deleted the editions of Claude Dupin. However, the book of Montesquieu was placed in the Index Librorum Prohibitorum in 1751 and the Pope prohibits his reading. Claude Dupin published in 1752, a new but more moderate version of three volumes: "Observations on a book called Spirit of the laws" and that criticism, well argued, didn't know the fate of the first edition. This confrontation causes the rupture of relations between Montesquieu and the Dupins.
The Spirit of the Laws
On the equality of men and women, a book wrote by Madame Dupin with a real commitment to feminism. With the defense of the cause of women, an area that is close to her heart, she challenged the reasoning of Montesquieu, who exhibits on his works a clear misogyny (is believed that in fact the hate of Montesquieu to women was caused by jealousy to Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the rejection of Madame Dupin to his advances, and for this conflict he attacked Claude Dupin in his work [51]).This book of 1,200 pages, written with the help of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, was unfortunately never published. Is uncertain why Madame Dupin renounced to the idea of her book could be known after years of work; probably because, despite being a salon-holder in the middle of the 18th century, she didn't have the complete freedom to publish this type of material. Olivier Marchal, author of two books about Jean-Jacques Rousseau, supports this explanation:[52]
The Spirit of the Laws
Louise Dupin (preface by Frédéric Marty), Éloge des reines de France (Praise of the queens of France), Paris, editions Payot & Rivages, coll. Petite Bibliothèque classiques, 6 March 2024, 144 p.
online
Angela Hunter and Rebecca Wilkin: Louise Dupin's Work on Women, Selections, Oxford, , coll. « Oxford New Histories of Philosophy », 20 july 2023, 344 p. online
Oxford University Press Inc.
Louise Dupin (preface by Frédéric Marty), Des femmes: observations du préjugé commun sur la différence des sexes, Paris, Classiques Garnier, coll. 18th century library, 28 September 2022, 552 p.
online
Louise Dupin (preface by Frédéric Marty), Des femmes: discours préliminaire, Paris, editions Payot & Rivages, coll. Petite Bibliothèque classiques, 31 august 2022, 144 p.
online
Frédéric Marty, Louise Dupin: défendre l'égalité entre les sexes en 1750, Paris, Classiques Garnier, coll. L'Europe des Lumières, 27 january 2021, 344 p.
online
Jean Buon (preface by ): Madame Dupin : Une féministe à Chenonceau au siècle des Lumières, Joué-lès-Tours, ed. La Simarre, 16 January 2014, 224 p. online
Michelle Perrot
Jean Buon: George Sand et Madame Dupin : son arrière grand-mère par alliance in: Les amis de George Sand, Tusson, nº 34: "George Sand et les arts du XVIII siècle", September 2012, pp. 187–204.
Olivier Marchal: Rousseau : la comédie des masques, Paris, Éditions Gallimard, coll. "Folio" (nº 5404), 20 April 2012, 544 p., pp. 15–91. The first part of the novel concerns the relationship between Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Madame Dupin.
Harumi Yamazaki-Jamin: À propos de Suzanne, Madame Dupin de Francueil, née Bollioud de Saint-Jullien (1718-1754), vol. 49: Annales de la Société Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Geneva, ed. Droz, 2010, 427 p., pp. 283–298.
Claude Hartmann: Charles-Hélion, marquis de Barbançois-Villegongis (1760-1822) : un noble éclairé du Bas-Berry. Agronome, amateur de science et de philosophie, ed. L'Harmattan, coll. "Logiques Historiques", 14 June 2007, 114 p., "Le domaine de Villegongis", pp. 37–42 (Familles Dupin et Fontaine).
Christiane Gil: Les Dames de Chenonceau, Paris, ed. Pygmalion, coll. "Les grandes dames de l'histoire", 18 September 2003, 192 p., "Louise Dupin, une femme de cœur et d'esprit au siècle des Lumières", pp. 123–144.
Axelle de Gaigneron (preface by ): Connaissance des Arts : Chenonceaux, vol. 37 : Hors-série, Paris, Société française de promotion artistique, April–June 1993, 68 p., "Louise Dupin (1706-1799)", pp. 20–22.
Alain Decaux
Michel Laurencin (illustrations by Georges Pons): Dictionnaire biographique de Touraine, Chambray-lès-Tours, Éditions C.L.D., 1990, 632 p. ( nº FRBNF35287344).
BNF
Lucienne Chaubin, Marie-Josèphe Duaux-Giraud, Chantal Delavau-Labrux: Le Blanc : vingt siècles d'histoire, , ed. de l'Office municipal de la culture, des arts, des loisirs et Éditions Royer, coll. "Archives d'histoire locale", 1 January 1983, 206 p., "Les Dupin au Blanc", pp. 171–173.
Le Blanc
Robert Ranjard: Le secret de Chenonceau, , ed. Gibert-Clarey, 8 June 1976 (1st ed. 1950), 256 p., "Monsieur et madame Dupin", pp. 177–210.
Tours
Chantal de la Véronne: Histoire du Blanc : des origines à la Révolution de 1789, t. VI, Poitiers, ed. Mémoires de la société des antiquaires de l'Ouest (nº 4), 1962 (reprint. 2012 by ed. Alice Lyner), 234 p., pp. 40–42.
François-Auguste Fauveau de Frenilly (preface by. Arthur Chuqet): Souvenirs du baron de Frenilly : Pair de France (1768-1828), Paris, ed. , 1909, 584 p. online, chap. V: "Chenonceaux et Madame Dupin", pp. 177–179.
Plon
Paul Triaire (preface by Léon Lereboullet): Bretonneau et ses correspondants : ouvrage comprenant la correspondance de Trousseau et de Velpeau avec Bretonneau, vol. 1, Paris, ed. , 14 May 1892, 618 p. (BNF nº FRBNF30159684) online "Biographie de Bretonneau (Pierre Bretonneau et Madame Dupin)", pp. 27–40 in the website of Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de santé.
Félix Alcan
Gaston de Villeneuve-Guibert: Le portefeuille de madame Dupin : Dame de Chenonceaux, Paris, ed. , 20 January 1884, 606 p. online.
Calmann-Lévy
: Histoire de ma vie, vol. I, Paris, ed. Michel Lévy Frères, 15 April 1847 (1st ed. 1856), 274 p. online, chap. 2: "Madame Dupin de Chenonceaux", pp. 61–71.
George Sand
Nicolas François Bellart (preface by Bergeron-D'Anguy): Œuvres de N. F. Bellart : Procureur-général à la cour royale de Paris, vol. 1, Paris, J. L. J. Brière libraire-éditeur, February 1827, 484 p. , "Plaidoyer pour la famille Dupin contre la tutrice de la mineure Saint-Aubin", pp. 383–428.
online
: Les Confessions de Jean-Jacques Rousseau, vol. 1 (2nd part), Paris, 18th century, 182 p. online online, chap. VII: "Madame Dupin", pp. 151–152 (Paris) and 177-178 (Chenonceau).
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Barthélemy François Joseph Mouffle D'Angerville: Vie Privée de Louis XV : ou principaux événements, particularités et anecdotes de son règne, vol. 1, , ed. John Peter Lyton, 1 December 1780 (reprinted in 1796 under the title of Siècle de Louis XV) (1st ed. 1781), 398 p. online, chap. XXXIII, pp. 288–290.
London
. Library of Congress.