Emma TEISSIER

Emma TEISSIER

"Une femme avant-gardiste"

Artwork created by Au Temps du Chevalet, ELKA

Fortunette des Baux lived a full and exciting life. Depicting each stage of her life is an arduous task, given the paucity of iconographic sources.
So I propose to paint a portrait of Emma Teissier, encompassing all the symbolism she conveyed wherever she went. What better way to refer to her poise and beauty than by highlighting the lines of her face?
She is dressed in the Arlésienne style, a traditional costume with a headdress. Her face is treated in my style, with multicoloured facets. This highlights her multiple experiences, her many artistic qualities and the different cultures she has immersed herself in over the course of her life, particularly Brazilian. It also reminds us that she was a colourful character! This is in deliberate contrast to the hair and clothes, which are realistically rendered in a single shade of blue-grey. This choice will be explained in more detail later.
The composition is centred below the height of the gable, shifted slightly to the right to balance the visual impression with the window on the façade. The rendering on the wall is light, in warm stone tones. This is why it was chosen to contrast the visual of the proposed work with bluish and grey tones. The two elements therefore enhance each other. What's more, it fits in with the plaques already on the façade.
Generally speaking, I paint my murals using aerosol sprays and markers. This technique gives me great freedom of movement and unrivalled speed of execution. This type of material also preserves itself very well, because the sprays form a thin layer with optimum adhesion, whatever the surface.

ELKA

Emma Catherine TEISSIER. (Maussane-les-Alpilles 1867- Salon de Provence 1944).

Emma was born in the Mas-Long district of Maussane. At the age of 20, she ran away to Nice and won a competition that earned her the nickname of the Prix de beauté. At 23, she met Fréderic Mistral and became the muse of the félibres, the embodiment of Provençal beauty. They nicknamed her

Fortunette (heroine of Calendau).

She settled in Avignon and spent most of her time with the félibres.

Her freedom and non-conformism were a source of annoyance, and she was dismissed. She returned to the Alcazar in Marseille, where she practised her singing talents. It was an instant success!

Her destiny changed even more when the director of the Rio de Janeiro opera noticed her. At just 25, she set off to sing in Brazil. It was a triumph! She married and lived in Brazil for 35 years, where she became a rich and respected businesswoman. She helped the félibres enrich the Museon in Arles.

At the age of 64, widowed, she came to end her life in Maussane, her native village. She was nicknamed La Brésilienne.

Thanks to the commune of Saint-Rémy de Provence.

Vocal recording of Ms Eugenie Gros, félibresse (deputy delegate for culture, tourism, promotion of the Provençal language and management of the Maillane library):

Correspondence between Emma Teissier & Fréderic Mistral: