Saturday, February 4, 2017

Born Today February 4: Marivaux


1688-1763

French writer Pierre de Marivaux, more popularly known simply as Marivaux, was born Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux on this day in Paris.  His father was a Norman financier whose actual surname was Carlet; he assumed both the surnames of Chamblain and Marivaux, was the director of the royal mint in Auvergne--the family lived in two towns in that region.  Young Pierre produced his first play at age of 18 (it was actually published several years later), and it would be that medium that he became the most prolific in, though he was also an essayist and he wrote in the novel form, though none of those works were actually finished.  The plays he produced were mostly in the French-Comedy or Italian-Comedy genre (my translation); and he would, in fact, become one of the important and influential playwrights of the 18th century.  Only one film was made from his work during the silent era; that came in 1914 with I nostri figli, a short Italian film based on one of his plays.  It would not be until 1940 that another film would be produced based on his writing.  Over the decades, many films have made use of his writings as source material, with the most recent coming last year with a made for television film Les fausses confidenses (2016); produced in his native France.  He died on 12 February 1763, just 8 days after turning 75.  He is buried in Paris' Catholic Church of Saint-Eustache.  To read more about his remarkable life, follow links below.




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