Valtesse de la Bigne

Émilie-Louise Delabigne, known as Countess Valtesse de La Bigne, was an elite French courtesan and demi-mondaine who rose through the social ranks to mix with Paris's most glamorous elite. Although born to a working-class family in Paris, she built a life for herself and became a muse to artists like Henri Gervex, Édouard Manet, as well as novelist Émile Zola. Beyond her career as a courtesan, she was also an actress, an art collector, and salonnière.