Françoise Saucerote, known as Mademoiselle Raucourt, triumphed in Dido in 1772 and entered the Comédie-Française three months later, at sixteen. Her royalist sentiments earned her prison in 1793; freed after Thermidor, she was then showered with favours by Napoleon. Nothing is carved on her monument, neither name nor dates: one has to know the face of the bust to identify her.
The story
The grave of Françoise Marie Antoinette Saucerotte, known as Mademoiselle Raucourt, carries no inscription at all: no name, no dates, no profession. A marble bust signed Jean-Jacques Flatters used to identify her — it was stolen in 2005. The tragedienne now lies beneath a stone that says nothing whatever.
The career, on the other hand, was exceptional. In September 1772 her Dido was a triumph: at sixteen, the daughter of an obscure travelling actor, she was received as a societaire of the Comédie-Française straight away, without even sitting an examination — the hundred and sixty-sixth of the house. In 1793 her royalist convictions cost her six months in the prison of Sainte-Pélagie; released after the fall of Robespierre, she won over Napoleon, who sent her in 1806 to establish French theatre in Italy.
She died on 3 January 1815, at fifty-eight. Her plot in Division 20 is maintained in perpetuity and free of charge by the City of Paris — a distinction granted to a few dozen graves in the cemetery. Since the bust was stolen, nothing on the spot says who lies there.
The grave
A marble bust by the sculptor Jean-Jacques Flatters, and no inscription: neither name, nor dates, nor profession. The sociétaire of the Comédie-Française whom Napoleon showered with favours rests beneath an anonymous face. The plot is maintained in perpetuity and free of charge by the City of Paris — a distinction reserved for a few dozen tombs in the cemetery.
On site, do not miss
A marble bust by Jean-Jacques Flatters — and no inscription: neither name nor dates. One has to know the face to recognise the tragedienne. The plot is maintained free of charge by the City of Paris.
Visitors' questions
Where is Mademoiselle Raucourt's grave?
In Division 20, chemin du Bassin, second row. You know it by its marble bust, signed Jean-Jacques Flatters — for the grave carries no inscription at all. The plot is maintained in perpetuity, free of charge, by the City of Paris.
Louise ContatWhat was her first success?
The part of Dido, in 1772: she was made a sociétaire of the Comédie-Française three months later. She had begun at sixteen, following the example of her father, an actor himself.
François-Joseph TalmaWas she imprisoned?
She was, in 1793, for her royalist sympathies; she was freed after the 9th of Thermidor. Under the Empire her fortunes turned about: Napoleon, a great admirer of her gifts, heaped favours on her.
RachelWho sculpted her bust?
Jean-Jacques Flatters. The marble bust is the only thing that identifies the tragedienne: the stone carries no inscription, and the plot is maintained free of charge by the City of Paris.
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