19.00 USD
Regina Badet in dramatic maenad costume. This is a wonderful portrait by Paul Boyer of Paris, showing that long before Marilyn Monroe, Mlle. Badet was making the pooch sexy :).
One of our favorite, and most magical, subgenres of "Lovely Lady" postcards has to be that of the "marvelous maenad." These are somewhat idealized, and presumably toned down, versions of those wild maidens of ancient Greece, who in their worship of Dionysus, the god of wine and sensual abandon, got up to all kinds of mischief. The maenad, as an image, was practically the poster girl of La Belle Epoque, expressing that rich, earthy, "joie de vivre," which has come to be seen as so expressive of that era.
Regina Badet, born in 1876, in Bordeaux, was a principal dancer at the Grande Theatre de Bordeaux by the age of 14. By 1900, she had begun a career as an actress and dancer in Paris. She was a star of the Opera Comique in Paris and eventually traveled the world as an international star. She also appeared in the medium of film beginning in 1908, making a number of silent movies.
In the 1920s, Mlle. Badet quietly retired from stage and screen. She died where she had been born, at the age of 73, in Bordeaux, France.
Many thanks to Wikipedia for much of our biographical information.
A stunning image in wonderful condition.
Please examine our high res scans for detail.
Postage is for first class shipping in a secure photo mailer, and we happily combine shipping on all paper goods. If you purchase two cards, we will refund the postage on the second card, and when you purchase three or more cards from us at the same time, your shipping will be entirely free, except for international orders which, because of sudden increases in international shipping rates will still be charged one card's shipping fees on orders of three or more.