Quinault family
Encyclopedia
This Quinault family were French actors, active in the first half of the 18th century.
In addition, in 1727 Abraham-Alexis married one of the female stars:
And in November 1727, a cousin made her début:
- Jean Quinault was the father of this family. He was born at BourgesBourgesBourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
around 1656 or 1658, and died before June 1728. Said to be the son of a doctor from IssoudunIssoudunIssoudun is a commune in the Indre department in central France. It is also referred to as Issoundun, which is the ancient name.-History:...
, he joined an acting company based in RouenRouenRouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
called the troupe du Dauphin in 1679 and again in 1681. In AmiensAmiensAmiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
in 1686 he married Marie Saintelette, daughter of a baker from VerdunVerdunVerdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...
. In March 1694 he and his wife joined the troupe of Leopold, Duke of LorraineLeopold, Duke of LorraineLeopold , surnamed the Good, was Duke of Lorraine and Bar from 1690 to his death.-Early life:Leopold Joseph Charles Dominique Agapet Hyacinthe was the son of Charles V, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife Eleonora Maria Josefa of Austria, a half-sister of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.At the time of...
; the following year he auditioned for the Comédie-FrançaiseComédie-FrançaiseThe Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
and was accepted for a quarter-share position. Instead of remaining in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, however, he returned to Lorraine and headed the duke's troupe from 1695 to 1705. Typically of provincial actors at the time, he led an itinerant life; various documents place him in Boulogne-sur-MerBoulogne-sur-Mer-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
in 1697; in MetzMetzMetz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
in 1688, 1698 and 1701; in VerdunVerdunVerdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...
in 1693; in StrasbourgStrasbourgStrasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
in 1699 and 1702, in Nancy in 1699; in MarseilleMarseilleMarseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
in 1705; and in 1727 in the Palatinate of the Rhine. Jean Quinault is remembered chiefly for his children, almost all of whom learned their craft in their father's troupe and went on to become successful actors. For part of the early 18th century, they dominated the Paris theater.
- Jean-Baptiste-Maurice Quinault, baptized 9 September 1687, died 3 September 1745 in Autry-le-ChâtelAutry-le-ChâtelAutry-le-Châtel is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France....
, near GienGienGien is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.Gien is on the Loire River, from Orléans. The town was bought for the royal property by Philip II of France. The town is twinned with Malmesbury in England.-Sights:*Faience de Gien...
. He made his début at the Comédie-FrançaiseComédie-FrançaiseThe Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
in May 1712 and was accepted into the troupe the next month. He played both tragic and comic roles, but was most praised for the latter. He retired from the stage in 1733, returned briefly in 1734, then retired to Autry where he spent the rest of his life.
- Françoise Quinault, born probably in 1688 in Metz, died 22 December 1713 in Paris; also called Mlle Denesle. She made her début at the Comédie-Française in January 1708 and was accepted into the troupe later in the year. She was unhappily married to a would-be actor named Denesle, and in poor health; she died at the age of 25.
- Abraham-Alexis QuinaultQuinault-DufresneAbraham-Alexis Quinault, called Quinault-Dufresne, was a French actor, born in Verdun 9 September 1693, died in Paris 12 February 1767. He was a member of the Quinault family of actors....
, born and baptized 9 September 1693 in Verdun, died 12 February 1767 in Paris; called Quinault-Dufresne. He made his début at the Comédie-Française in October 1712 and was accepted the same year. He was handsome and had musical talent. Until his retirement in 1741 he was the principal male star of the troupe in both tragic and comic roles.
- Marie-Jeanne Quinault, born 21 December 1697 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, died 9 November 1793 in Paris; usually called Marie-Anne-Catherine, Marie-Anne-Christine, or Mlle Quinault l'aînée (the elder). She made her début at the Comédie-Française in January 1714 and was accepted into the troupe the next month. She was the most beautiful of the Quinault sisters, but not the most talented, and she played primarily young women in light comedies. She retired very quickly, in 1722, and had a long liaison with the duc de Nevers; there is strong evidence to suggest that they had a child together and contracted a Morganatic marriageMorganatic marriageIn the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
.
- Jeanne QuinaultJeanne QuinaultJeanne Quinault , was a French actress, playwright and salon hostess....
, born and baptized 13 October 1699 in Strasbourg, died 18 January 1783 in Paris; usually called Jeanne-Françoise, or Mlle Quinault la cadette (the younger). She made her début at the Comédie-Française in June 1718 and was accepted in December. She was a very popular actress in comic roles, especially the saucy and resourceful SoubretteSoubretteA soubrette is a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy".-Theater:...
parts. She was also one of the most intelligent members of the troupe, and is reputed to have advised VoltaireVoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
and Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La ChausséePierre-Claude Nivelle de La ChausséePierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée , French dramatist who blurred the lines between comedy and tragedy with his comédie larmoyante....
on writing some of their hit plays. After her retirement in 1741, she became the hostess of a famous salonSalon (gathering)A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
, called the Bout-du-Banc. She took responsibility for her eldest brother's orphaned children after his death in 1745. In 1758, she moved from her Paris apartment to the more rural Saint-Germain-en-LayeSaint-Germain-en-LayeSaint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...
, where she lived quietly and corresponded with friends, until failing health led her to return to the city in 1778.
- François Quinault, birth and death dates and places unknown, but recorded as acting in the theaters of the Paris fairsThéâtre de la foireThéâtre de la foire is the collective name given to the theatre put on at the annual fairs at Saint-Germain and Saint-Laurent in Paris.-Foire Saint-Germain:The earliest references to the annual fair date to 1176...
from 1738 to 1742, ValenciennesValenciennesValenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...
in 1746, ThionvilleThionvilleThionville , is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz.-Demographics:...
in 1749, Nancy in 1750, and the troupe of the Prince of OrangePrince of OrangePrince of Orange is a title of nobility, originally associated with the Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. In French it is la Principauté d'Orange....
in the 1750s
In addition, in 1727 Abraham-Alexis married one of the female stars:
- Catherine-Jeanne Dupré, born about 1705, died 15 July 1767 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye; she was originally called Mlle de Seine, but after her marriage was also called Mlle Dufresne or Mlle Quinault-Dufresne. She made her début in 1724 at FontainebleauFontainebleauFontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
, where the company was performing before the court, and she was accepted into the troupe a few days later. Her marriage and her career were marked by scandals and conflicts, and she retired in 1736 claiming poor health.
And in November 1727, a cousin made her début:
- Marguerite-Marie-Thérèse-Élisabeth Étienne, born 3 August 1701 in Verdun, died 7 September 1746 in Paris, called Mlle Balicourt or de Balicourt. Her mother and Jean Quinault's wife were sisters. She was accepted into the troupe in January 1728, and played the roles of queens and powerful women, but poor health led her to retire in 1738.
Sources
- Judith Curtis, "Divine Thalie": the career of Jeanne Quinault", SVEC 2007:08. This is the definitive work on the Quinault family, focussing on Jeanne Quinault. It draws on all the known collections of Mlle Quinault's unpublished letters, at the Bibliothèque nationale de FranceBibliothèque nationale de FranceThe is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
, the Bibliothèque-musée de la Comédie-Française and at the Moscow State Historical MuseumState Historical MuseumThe State Historical Museum of Russia is a museum of Russian history wedged between Red Square and Manege Square in Moscow. Its exhibitions range from relics of the prehistoric tribes inhabiting present-day Russia, through priceless artworks acquired by members of the Romanov dynasty...
. It draws on all the standard works of scholarship on French 18th-century theater, and corrects a number of errors in the historical tradition and legends about the Quinault family. - J. A. Dainard, et al., eds., Correspondance de Mme de Graffigny, Oxford: Voltaire Foundation, 1985--, in progress; 12 vols. in print, vol. 13 due in 2010, edition will be complete in 15 vols. Françoise de GraffignyFrançoise de GraffignyFrançoise de Graffigny, née d'Issembourg Du Buisson d'Happoncourt was a French novelist, playwright and salon hostess....
met Jeanne Quinault in 1740, and regarded the actress as her best friend for the rest of her life. There are no letters to or from Mlle Quinault in this edition, but she is often mentioned, meetings of her salon are described, and her social circle, including her family, are often discussed.
External links
- List of Actors at the Comédie-Française
- La Correspondance de Mme de Graffigny website The site includes an index to the correspondence.