More stories of extraordinary women on the website Marquise Luisa Casati Stampa di Soncino was born Luisa Adele Rosa Maria Amman on January 23, 1881. She was an Italian heiress, patron of the arts and muse of artists. She was also a great eccentric. Some maliciously believe that she lived only to attract attention and shock. And she had such opportunities because, first of all, she was exceptionally beautiful, and besides, she was fabulously rich thanks to her father’s fortune and she married a marquis, thus gaining an aristocratic title.
She led a comfortable life, she lacked nothing
In 1900, Luisa married Camillo, a Roman marquis, and a year later she gave birth to her only child, a daughter. The spouses lived in separate residences, 14 years after their wedding they decided to separate, but they never divorced. Luisa lived a comfortable and prosperous life. She had no responsibilities, she spent her time at numerous parties and banquets, where she always appeared in stunning outfits, and she traveled a lot. Luisa became the patron of promising fashion designers and an inspiration for those already appreciated. She posed for many portraits, sculptures and photographs, and was the object of artists’ desires. She loved to inspire people, but also impress them, she wanted to be constantly in the center of attention.
She didn’t know what moderation was
Because Luisa realized that in terms of beauty she could not compete with other Italian society beauties, she opted for originality. She dyed her hair a fiery shade of red and wore expressive makeup that optically enlarged her naturally large eyes, which she sprinkled with atropine to enlarge the pupils. Additionally, she extended her eyelashes with horsehair, lightened her pale skin with talcum powder, and painted her lips blood red. It was hard to take your eyes off her. As for the wardrobe, it was probably even more shocking. She employed the best tailors who designed her extravagant outfits made of transparent fabrics, decorated with diamonds, gold-painted peacock feathers, etc. She was intrigued by exotic animals, so she often attended various celebrations in their company. Sometimes it was a snake wrapped around the neck, sometimes monkeys, wild cats, sometimes peacocks, some painted with gold paint. She turned her arrival at various balls and other celebrations into a real show. Once she arrived in a gondola with a tiger, another time she was led away by dark-skinned men painted in her favorite color, gold. Her creations were always like works of art, which were still talked about in society for a long time. For one of the important occasions, she ordered an outfit created by Pablo Picasso.
The sad end of Luisa Casati
Although Luisa had considerable wealth, her numerous extravagances and legendary riotous lifestyle not only led to the loss of it, but by the 1930s she was already in gigantic debts of $25 million. Eventually, she was forced to auction off her belongings and expensive wardrobe. She moved to London, to a one-room apartment, where she lived alone in poverty. She died of a stroke in 1957 and was buried in her own style – wearing a leopard-print outfit, with false eyelashes, and accompanied by a stuffed dog.
Source: Gazeta
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