Grave · 1883-1916
Clésinger-Gourmont tomb, Père-Lachaise Cemetery
Address · Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, 16, rue du Repos, 75020 Paris (10e division)
Metro · Père-Lachaise (2, 3) / Philippe Auguste (2)
Today · Free access. Père-Lachaise Cemetery, during opening hours.
The story
Auguste Clésinger (1814-1883), sculptor and son-in-law of George Sand, lies in Père-Lachaise. Berthe de Courrière, his legatee, had Remy de Gourmont placed there in 1915, then was buried there herself in 1916.
The three rest together in the same vault, which Berthe seems to have intended as a final challenge to propriety. Her name is not engraved, and the tomb is still said to attract “devotees of black masses”.
