Delfina z Komarów Potocka (1807-1877)
Along the cemetery wall at Les Champeaux stands one of its more impressive tombs. Resting on a high limestone base, now carved and filled with gravel and greenery, is a tomb capped with an elegant slab crafted from the celebrated white Carrara marble and marked by a simple cross. Previously, the grave was separated from the rest of the cemetery by an iron fence with floral motifs, no longer extant, and flanked on three sides by greenery. Although these elements have since disappeared, a melancholic quatrain by Zygmunt Krasiński (1812-1859) remains inscribed in marble and visible from the pathway: Jeszcze kielich mojej doli / wiele kropel ma / Muszę cierpieć, pić powoli / wypić aż do dna („Yet the cup of my fate / Has many drops still / I must suffer, drink slowly / Drink it to the dregs”). In his 1843 poem Przedświt („Dawn”), the poet immortalised Delfina Potocka, his long-time lover and the one interred here, as Beatrice. This explicit reference to Dante’s Divine Comedy hints at Potocka as a steadfast companion to the poet, exiled from his ancestral homeland, in his journey towards the messianic truth of Poland’s mission to renew humanity. Towards the end of her life, Potocka took great care to highlight her role as a muse to a great artist, and she championed this legacy for both her contemporaries and posterity. In this spirit, she meticulously preserved the many letters Krasiński had written to her over the years. Thanks to her efforts as the poet’s Beatrice, much of this correspondence survives, a total of several hundred letters of immense literary value. The choice of Montmorency Cemetery as her final resting place underscored Delfina Potocka’s connection to her Polish heritage, despite her cosmopolitan life spent mainly in France, where she was more comfortable speaking French than her native tongue. Potocka’s role as Beatrice was but one among many in her life. She was an iconic figure of the Romantic era, celebrated not only for her success as a socialite and numerous romances but also for her musical talent. Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849), who maintained a close friendship with Potocka, and Franz Liszt (1811-1886) admired her singing. Indeed, as Chopin lay dying, he asked his friend Delfina to sing for him in his final moments.

Delfina Komar was born in 1807 in Murowane Kuryłowce, Podolia (Murovani Kurylivtsi, present-day Ukraine), a Russian-controlled region after the Second Partition of Poland (1793). Her father, Stanisław Delfin Komar (1770-1835), hailed from the moderately wealthy Masovian nobility. Initially serving in the Polish military, Komar rose to prominence in Russia when he joined Catherine the Great’s army before the Second Partition and distinguished himself at her court. He acquired substantial estates in the Russian Partition through influential connections in Saint Petersburg. These previously belonged to Katarzyna Kossakowska, née Potocka (1722-1803), who had refused to pledge allegiance to Catherine II, a requirement for retaining property under the new rule. This fortune, which Komar secured partly through family connections, was augmented through marriage to Honorata Orłowska (1780-1845) from the respected Orłowski family in Podolia. Over time, the Komars rose to prominence and became a wealthy and influential family with a status approaching that of the magnates. Their ambitions for social ascendance were reflected in the impressive Neo-classical mansion they built at Kuryłowce, a beautiful setting emblematic of their aspirations, and in a lifestyle steeped in French culture and enriched by international travel, which were the hallmarks of the early nineteenth-century aristocracy.

The Komar family’s aristocratic ambitions were fulfilled through Delfina’s marriage. As the eldest sibling, Delfina married, as one might expect, the most eligible match in Ukraine at the time: the fabulously wealthy Mieczysław Potocki (1799-1878), son of Szczęsny Potocki (1751-1805), a prominent figure in the Targowica Confederation (1792-1793), an alliance of nobles who acted under Russian patronage to oppose the reformist Constitution of 3 May 1791. The wedding, initially met with reluctance from the bride’s father, took place in October 1825 at Kuryłowce. However, the marriage soon dissolved due to Mieczysław’s cruelty, eccentricities, and parsimony. By 1828, Delfina had left him and moved abroad, securing a substantial allowance of 100,000 francs annually. She retained Countess Potocka’s title and financial independence throughout her life, even after their divorce in 1843.

Potocka settled in Paris and, apart from brief intervals, spent the rest of her life abroad. Financial independence and freedom from her husband allowed her to immerse herself fully in the aristocratic elite. In that era, opportunities for women, even those from the elite, to participate in public life were limited. One of the few accessible spheres was social life, whose centre stage among the elite was the salon: a setting for gatherings and intellectual exchange and for building social prestige. The salon followed established codes of behaviour and influenced politics and the arts. In the salon, the hostess held a unique role as the guiding spirit of social exchange. The idea of the salon was notably well developed in France, where, in the nineteenth century, people eagerly revived the traditions of the old order and drew on examples from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Raised in the spirit of French aristocratic culture, Potocka quickly adapted to this world, and she achieved remarkable success, aided by her beauty, intelligence, and artistic flair. She rose through numerous romantic liaisons, notably with members of royal families such as Ferdinand, Duke of Orléans, heir to the French throne (1810-1842), and Jérôme Bonaparte (1814-1847), nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). Potocka also hosted her salon, which was frequented by Poles and foreign guests from the realms of politics and the arts. Politically engaged, she aligned closely in Polish émigré circles with the faction centred around Adam Jerzy Czartoryski (1770-1861), and was a frequent guest at his Parisian residence, the Hôtel Lambert.

In her later years, Potocka was less active in elite society and resided mainly in Nice, where she owned a villa inherited from her mother. She devoted herself to charitable activities and established an educational institution for young ladies.