Historical Figures

Juliette Récamier, woman of spirit

Jeanne Françoise Julie Adélaïde Bernard, who became Juliette or Julie Récamier (1777 – 1849) was a French-minded woman. His salon brings together the biggest names in the political and cultural world of his time.

Jacques-Rose Récamier, father and husband

Daughter of a royal notary, Jeanne Françoise Julie Adélaïde Bernard was born on December 3, 1777 in Lyon. When his father was appointed Receiver of Finances in 1786, his family moved to Paris. Juliette, boarded in a convent in Lyon, joined them a year later.

In April 1793, during the Terror which followed the Revolution, Juliette, at the age of 15, married a friend of her parents. She will have, with Jacques-Rose Récamier, a platonic and affectionate relationship; it was presumably her natural father and the marriage was intended to give her protection.

From 1797, Juliette began to hold a salon in Paris which quickly attracted the worldly, cultural and political world of the capital. One of the first to draw on the Greek and ancient style for furnishing and dressing, Juliette helped to launch a new fashion from Antiquity. Her husband, a wealthy banker, enjoyed success and became Regent of the Banque de France in 1800.

Juliet's living room

An important figure in the opposition to Napoleon through the influence of her receptions, Juliette Récamier's salon was banned while two of her relatives, Madame de Staël and Adrien de Montmorency, were exiled. In 1805, financial problems forced the Récamiers to sell their mansion. Shortly after, Juliette was exiled in turn by order of the imperial police.

The young woman spent some time in Châlons-sur-Marne then in Lyon before going to Rome where she reconstituted her salon life until Napoleon's abdication in April 1814. She then returned to Paris and resumed her social activity, but this time she demands political neutrality from her guests. His salon then became more cultural, more literary, receiving in particular Chateaubriand, Edgar Quinet, Tocqueville, Lamartine and Balzac.

After reversals of fortune, in 1819, Juliette moved to the Abbaye-aux-Bois, renting an apartment in a convent. She continued her receptions there, also forming circles of intellectuals during occasional stays in Italy. From 1840, her health declined and she led a more retired life. On May 11, 1849, Juliette Récamier died of illness at the age of 72.