![](http://www.tumblr.com/share/photo?source=http%3A%2F%2Flibbymurphy.com%2Fhumancomedy%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F000%2F058%2F1951844%2Clarge.jpg%3F1382211611&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Flibbymurphy.com%2Fhumancomedy%2Falbums%2Ffasion%2Fcontent%2Fla-lionne-de-la-chaussee-dantin%2F" title="La Lionne de la Chaussée d'Antin"%3ELa Lionne de la Chaussée d'Antin%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAlfred André Géniole
(French, 1813–1861)
La Lionne de la Chausée d'Antin (The Female Dandy of the Chausée d’Antin), 1841–42
Lithograph
Gift of Eugene L. Garbaty, 1951.84.4
The first steeplechase was run in France in 1829, and a racetrack was built in the Bois de Boulogne in 1857. Pari-sians flocked by the thousands to the races, and the site became a favorite subject of artists like Guys, Degas, and Toulouse-Lautrec. Fashionable society ladies and courte-sans used the ride from Paris as a pretext for showing off their carriages and livery as well as their fashions, a trend that is exploited to dramatic effect in novels by Flaubert and Zola. Géniole implies that the lionne pictured here keeps an entire stable of lovers.
— Déjà revenue du Steeple-Chasse ?
— Ah, mon Dieu oui !
—Eh bien, qui est-ce qui a eu le prix ? Est-ce le gros Baron, ou Mr. votre mari ?
—Pas du tout, ma chère, c'est un autre cheval.
— Already back from the steeplechase?
— My God, yes!
— Well then, who took the prize? Was it the rich Baron, or your dear husband?
—Neither one, my dear, it was another animal.
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The Human Comedy: Chronicles of 19th-Century France
La Lionne de la Chaussée d'Antin
Alfred André Géniole (French, 1813–1861) La Lionne de la Chausée d'Antin (The Female Dandy of the Chausée d’Antin), 1841–42 Lithograph Gift of Eugene L. Garbaty, 1951.84.4
The first steeplechase was run in France in 1829, and a racetrack was built in the Bois de Boulogne in 1857. Pari-sians flocked by the thousands to the races, and the site became a favorite subject of artists like Guys, Degas, and Toulouse-Lautrec. Fashionable society ladies and courte-sans used the ride from Paris as a pretext for showing off their carriages and livery as well as their fashions, a trend that is exploited to dramatic effect in novels by Flaubert and Zola. Géniole implies that the lionne pictured here keeps an entire stable of lovers.
— Déjà revenue du Steeple-Chasse ? — Ah, mon Dieu oui ! —Eh bien, qui est-ce qui a eu le prix ? Est-ce le gros Baron, ou Mr. votre mari ? —Pas du tout, ma chère, c'est un autre cheval.
— Already back from the steeplechase? — My God, yes! — Well then, who took the prize? Was it the rich Baron, or your dear husband? —Neither one, my dear, it was another animal.