Breslau, Louise Katerina

She spent her childhood in Zurich , then settled in Paris . All my life I suffered from asthma. She started drawing since childhood, being bedridden. Being one of the most famous portrait painters of her time, she was almost forgotten after death.

Born in a family of wealthy parents. Louise's father was a famous gynecologist. In 1858, he became a professor and head of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Zurich. Switzerland becomes home to the Breslau family. In 1866, Professor Breslau unexpectedly dies from a staph infection, having become infected during the autopsy.

After the death of her father, Louise is sent to study at a female school on Lake Constance - in the hope that this will alleviate her asthma. It is believed that it was her long stay at the women's school that awakened her talent. At the end of the 19th century, home education was considered suitable for a young girl from a wealthy family, including drawing and playing the piano. These classes were approved as appropriate for a worthy spouse and mother of the family. A professional career was rare and often pursued. Louise takes drawing lessons from the Swiss artist Eduard Pfeiffer (1836-1899) and by 1874 she came to the conclusion that she must leave Switzerland if she wanted to fulfill her dream of becoming a real artist. One of the few places where women could study at that time was the Julian Academy in Paris.

At the Academy, Breslau attracts the attention of teachers and causes the envy of some classmates, for example, Maria Bashkirtseva . In 1879, Louise was the only student at the Julian Academy, admitted to the debut at the Paris Salon. Soon after, Breslau changed his name to Louise Katerina, opened her own studio and became a regular participant and medalist of the annual Salon. The success and benevolent reviews of critics provide her with numerous orders from wealthy Parisians. Subsequently, she becomes the third woman and the first foreigner to be awarded the Legion of Honor .

Over time, Louise receives recognition from such famous figures as Edgar Degas and Anatole France (her portrait of the writer is known).

Madeleine Zillhardt played a major role in Louise’s life, with whom they lived for about forty years. Madeleine, Louise's classmate, became her muse, model, and more.

During the First World War, Breslau and Zillhardt continue to live in their home in the suburbs of Paris. Despite the German origin, Breslau remains loyal to France, writes numerous portraits of French soldiers bound for the front. After the war, Breslau departed from public life, continuing to write still lifes of flowers in his garden.

Louise Breslau dies in 1927 after a long serious illness. Madeleine Zillhardt inherited most of her estate by will.

Louise Breslau is buried next to her mother in the small town of Baden (Switzerland).

• [The name of the artist named the rose variety “Louise Katrina Breslau”, bred by French breeder Joseph Pernet-Duchet in 1912 ^[1] .
• [ Place du Louise-Catherine-Breslau-et-Madeleine-Zillhardt in the sixth arrondissement of Paris was named after Louise Breslau and Madeleine Zillhardt. ^[2]
• [ The Louise-Katrina barge in Paris is named after her. In 1928, Madeleine Zillhardt, with the support of Singer's heiress, Winnaretta Singer, buys a ship and transfers it to the Salvation Army under a shelter for the homeless. The architect Le Corbusier redesigned the ship in 1929, creating three bedrooms with 160 beds, dining rooms, toilets with showers and staff rooms. According to Le Corbusier's plan, it was assumed that the barge would be moored in front of the Louvre in the winter as a shelter for the homeless, and in the summer it would be used as a floating children's camp. During the flood of the Seine in February 2018, the barge sank and is now awaiting recovery and restoration ^[3] .

• Some work
•  

  Louise Breslau Girlfriends , approx. 1892

•  

  Louise Breslau Portrait of Madeleine Zillhardt, approx. 1895

• Zillhardt M. Louise-Catherine Breslau et ses amis. Paris: Éditions des Portiques, 1932 (German edition 1979)
• Overcoming all obstacles: the women of the Académie Julian / Gabriel P. Weisberg, Jane R. Becker, eds. New York: Dahesh Museum; New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1999

•   Wikimedia Commons has media related to Breslau, Louise Katerina
• artrenewal.org
• culture.gouv.fr