the woman behind some of Monaco’s finest establishments
From the Hôtel de Paris to the Opéra, via the Jardins des Boulingrins, discover the work of Marie-Charlotte Blanc, née Hensel.
If the name “François Blanc” is well known in the Principality, fewer are those who have also heard of his wife Marie. And yet, it is to this woman, born into a modest German family, that we owe some of Monaco’s iconic establishments today.
From the former Café Divan, now Café de Paris, to the Hotel of the same name and its cellars, Marie Blanc left a fabulous legacy, initiating and masterfully leading the decoration of these prestigious places. and this at a time when her status as a woman could have been an obstacle.
141 years after her death, it is to this visionary designer that the Société des Bains de Mer has decided to pay tribute on March 8, International Women’s Rights Day. The SBM organized two talks, including one for group employees, to highlight ” the one without whom the Société des Bains de Mer would probably not be here today. »
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From governess to businesswoman
It was in 1833, near Frankfurt, that little Marie-Charlotte Hensel was born. The daughter of a modest shoemaker from Hombourg, she left school at fifteen. Although nothing predestined her for her great career, her perfect mastery of the French language allowed her to enter the service of a certain François Blanc, businessman and concessionaire of the Hombourg games.
Employed as a governess for the two children of the house, Camille and Charles, the young Marie won over François Blanc with her quick-wittedness and her intelligence. For four years, the businessman allowed her to perfect her education in a boarding school for young girls. Twenty-seven years her senior, he ended up marrying her in 1854, two years after the death of his first wife.
From this marriage will be born three children: Marie-Louise, Edmond and Marie-Félix. But it is also the union of two visionary and creative minds: ” François Blanc did the numbers and Marie did everything around it. She was there permanently with her husband, to add the luxury touch, the quality of life touch, the art of living touch. », explains Jean-Luc Biamonti, Deputy Chairman of the SBM.
Initially becoming the patroness of the “Société anonyme des fermesunis du Kurhaus et des sources minerals de Hombourg”, Marie Blanc very quickly discovered a passion for decoration and fitted out her salons, particularly in Paris, where she acquired a very good reputation.
But as a good businessman, François Blanc spots a potential windfall, almost 1,000 kilometers from the capital: Monaco. However, at the time, the Principality, which had just lost Menton and its citrus fruits, was far from attractive. But in Hombourg, the gaming law is changing. François, pushed by Marie, decides to transfer his activity to Monaco.
If you are something, make yourself seen at Café de Madame Blanc, and you will become someone
Le Figaro
The birth of SBM
A seemingly risky bet, ultimately successful. In March 1863, the White couple went to the Principality and met Princess Caroline, as well as her son, Prince Charles III. For Marie, Monaco is a crush. On April 2 of that same year, François Blanc became Administrator and Managing Director of the Société des Bains de Mer and the Cercle des Etrangers. The company privileges the games for 50 years by Sovereign Ordinance.
The first establishment to which the White couple tackles is the Hôtel de Paris, whose construction had already begun but had remained unfinished. Marie spends no less than 200,000 francs for furnishings: ebony wood encrusted with gold fillets and Venetian chandeliers decorate the hotel and 30,000 francs are also spent on silverware. ” It was incredible! The government commissioner at the time was even surprised by saying that for a hotel with passing travelers, it was a bit risky to put silverware “, explains Charlotte Lubert, heritage manager of the SBM.
Then come the cellars, which had been forgotten and which Marie Blanc finances with her personal funds. Another institution quickly saw the light of day in 1868: the Café Divan, now known as the Café de Paris. ” If you are something, make yourself seen at Café de Madame Blanc, and you will become someone “, writing Le Figaro.
” She was not just a simple decorator, she also had her salons. She was a builder and, above all, she was very generous and made a lot of donations “says Charlotte Luret. With her husband, Marie financed, in particular, the construction of the Jesuit college, today Albert I high school, and the Cathedral of Monaco.
After the death of François in 1877, Marie Blanc continued her work. ” For a very long time, she has dreamed of offering Monaco a performance hall. She called on Charles Garnier, a fashionable architect, who had just finished the Opéra Garnier in Paris. Marie opens all the credits to him, there is no quote “, adds Charlotte Luret. The Monte-Carlo Opera sees the light of day and Marie chooses a prestigious guest for the inauguration: the very famous actress Sarah Bernhardt.
Died in 1881, Marie Blanc leaves an immense legacy behind her. More than a century after her death, the SBM wanted to tell us her extraordinary story, that of a creative and ambitious woman who saw in Monaco the ideal place to express all her talent.