Frederick Carl Frieseke: Jeanne Blazy

Detail from "Jeanne" by Alfred Maurer

"In Paris again at the end of November, Frederick Carl Frieseke settled into a new living and working space at 6, rue Victor Considerant. His rooms were above the apartment of Alson and Medora Clark, who for the next few years would provide familial stability and comradeship. The three shared meals and evenings of Parcheesi or bezique. Medora sewed his buttons on and frequently posed for the two men; she is the model for Frieseke's 'The Green Sash.' Also and Fred spent much time together, whether playing billiards, visiting exhibitions, or buying new top hats in time for the opening of the Internationale exhibition.

Once settled in, Frieseke engaged the services of a model from heaven, Jeanne Blazy.

'I've had a nice model. She's as useful as anything in other things besides posing. Brings my things for luncheon and cooks them before she leaves, hunts up anything I wish and is always cheerful. Always late but works on as long as I wish. She has posed for Whistler and lots of the big men. Posed for MacMonnies' statue in the Luxembourg.'

Given her essential contribution to the work of many artists, Jeanne Blazy might qualify for her own exhibition. In addition to the talents Frieseke discovered, Jeanne, it seems, could also stand on one foot for a long time while balancing an infant on her arm, as she apparently did for MacMonnies' 'Bacchante with Infant Faun.' Alfred Maurer's 'Jeanne,.' painted around 1904, presents a very different image of the same woman who appears in Frieseke's 'Sleep,' shown at the Salon in 1904. Maurer's interpretation won a gold medal at the 1905 Internationalen Kunstausstellung in Berlin."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Frederick Carl Frieseke: A Biography by Nicholas Kilmer" in Frederick Carl Frieseke: The Evolution of an American Impressionist"published on the occasion of an exhibition of Frieseke's work.)