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Her famous photograph in her coffin enthroned in the middle of her motley menagerie in her exotic mansion, her passion for bats reinforced her image as a great tragedian acclaimed for her scenes of agony. She liked to dress up in order to broaden her repertoire and at the age of fifty-six became the unforgettable «Aiglon» of Rostand.
At the end of the 19th century, she was so famous that she did not hesitate to appear on advertising posters created by Mucha for «LU» or by Jules Chéret for «La Diaphane», a rice powder. From the end of the 1870s, Sarah Bernhardt left aboard her legendary Pullman train for a tour of five continents.
A legend during her lifetime, she remains forever
a free and passionate being who always
and still captivates beyond her death in 1923 at the age of 79.
« Anyway!», she would say defying life forever.
Achille Mélandri, Sarah Bernhardt sculptress photography, circa 1877, woodburytype © BnF, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / image BnF
