It’s a bit of a long one today and with some nostalgic story telling so if that isn’t your vibe feel free to skip this week <3
To get to our visit of Josephine Baker’s former home of Château des Milandes in Dordogne, France - I have to give a bit of a backstory as to why this was such a special place to visit…
the view of the gardens when you walk into the Château grounds
When I was growing up, my parents (especially my Baba) loved teaching my sister and me about art, music, film etc… from any and all time periods. Family movie nights were of utmost importance. Listening to music was always paired with heavy discussion. We lamented over different eras and loved to surround ourselves with things and places that transported us. The world of Chez Josephine was one of those places.
Every so often when a long weekend, business trip or melancholy hit, we would head down to New York for a Broadway show and then a late dinner at Chez Josephine. Back then, Jean-Claude (her unofficially adopted son and restaurant owner) was spinning around the tables chatting and wearing fabulously bright outfits. There was always someone on the piano and tables were so close to each other that everyone shared theatre gossip from whatever show you just came from.
This was back in the early 2000s, before Jean-Claude and my father passed away. I haven’t been back to Chez Josephine since, and I am almost too afraid to visit the one in Paris for fear of damaging any memory I have of our visits in New York.
This past Christmas was ten years since I lost my Baba and all I asked for from Nico was a box of matches from Chez Josephine, which I saw on Ebay. Alas, matches are notoriously hard to ship overseas so Nico ordered some of my favourite scented ones from Buly 1803 (was a fantastic brand before they got bought out, now…I have some notes). Luckily the matches still slap. He printed the matchstick covers and diy-ed the perfect gift. As I was half bragging half thanking my MIL for raising him like this she pointed out that Château des Milandes - the former home of Josephine Baker wasn’t too far from the house in Figeac. In fact, she had visited last spring and it was lovely.
Fast forward a few months later and Nico, my dad and I were driving through the picturesque countryside of Dordogne towards Château des Milandes, while we shared our Chez Josephine experiences. These restaurants allowed for her stardom to transcend generations and keep her spirit alive, just as the Château strives to do. Nico had been to the restaurant in Paris, and my dad reminisced about Baba and his last visit to New York for a Sloan Kettering appointment where afterwards they dined at Chez Josephine. Apparently Baba and Jean-Claude chatted about his childhood and where his siblings were these days. Unfortunately, Joan Rivers was at the next table and my dad was very distracted by that and couldn’t remember anything Jean-Claude said, so at some point I’ll have to ask him to pull up his diaries for that day and see what’s in there.
the rose gardens
Visiting des Milandes tugs on your heartstrings and is an emotional journey. It takes you through Josephine’s life and dreams, her hopes of creating a world free of racism and hate and her eventual loss of the Château due to mounting debt/being exploited. You aren’t allowed to take any photos or film inside the Château so regrettably I have nothing to share from inside, but you can see a bit of the interior here. There is an audio tour that guides you through the rooms. It begins with history of the property and leads you into a room filled with her gowns and costumes. Clips of her dancing plays on small televisions that are surrounded by photographs of her and her famous friends, all smiling through the frames. You can visit various rooms throughout the Château: bedrooms, art deco bathrooms (designed after her favourite perfume bottles), her dressing room, a room documenting her time aiding the résistance, the kitchen, and more.
As most humans are, Josephine Baker and her legacy was and is complex. During the research for this newsletter I fell down an academia rabbit hole of articles dissecting her past, her dancing, her notoriety and her position as someone pushing for change in the world. There is a lot out there, but I find it peculiar to critique and comment on how she chose to curate her personal brand when honestly she was such a badass achieving all she did. I also fell into other writings that concentrate on her awareness and ownership of her power as a woman, such as Terri Simone Francis’ Josephine Baker’s Cinematic Prism.
a potager of course
I am about halfway through Jean-Claude Baker’s The Hungry Heart (I’ve heard this biography reads better, so that’s next on my list), in which he traveled everywhere to visit and speak with those who knew Josephine at every age, including his own tumultuous dynamic with the star. That coupled with my Baba’s fascination, I knew about a bit about her background and work with the résistance. However it is another thing to walk into a room filled with tchotchkes, radios carrying her coded lyrics, and photographs of her during that time. I welled up walking past the memorabilia. Her music also plays throughout the Château, adding to the nostalgia of it all.
She dreamed of creating a utopia in Dordogne, where people of all backgrounds could live in harmony. While living there, she began adopting children from all over the world to form her ‘rainbow tribe family’ and heavily documented their lives through advertisements, film, and paparazzi at the Château. I’ve read up on what the children have been up to since leaving Milandes behind and it varies, this article went into more depth and spoke with two of her sons back in 2009. You also can learn more about des Milandes here.
The gardens were completely redesigned between 1900 and 1908 by Jules Vacherot, who was the chief landscape architect for Paris at the time. Sadly, over the years, the gardens have fallen into various bouts of neglect. The recent restoration began in “2016 under the direction of Madame Françoise Phiquepal, landscape architect and specialist in historic gardens”.
a sole yellow rose plant growing against the Château walls
Back when Josephine was living there, there were regular farm animals and also exotic animals such as monkeys and her pet cheetah. Nowadays, the grounds keep the tradition alive of raising farm animals to entertain the kids who visit. You can feed the birds, goats, and watch a Birds of Prey demonstration (common in that area of France for entertainment). The gardens contain a winding path that connects all these animals and a miniature Château playhouse for kids to enjoy as well. The spirit Josephine wanted to evoke when adopting her children and revitalizing this sleepy hamlet has been resurrected through this museum and its surrounding gardens.
perfectly sculpted
One big question we were left wondering was if the income stream from operating the Château as a museum is shared with Josephine Baker’s surviving children and their families, or if any is donated to charities that aligned with Baker’s beliefs. Obviously there is an insane amount of financial upkeep to operate a museum such as this one, but yeah that was something on our minds. If anyone knows more about this let me know because we were really curious.
If you are traveling to Dordogne, I recommend visiting on a sunny day to enjoy the gardens and journey into a glamorous and bittersweet story. Opening times differ throughout the year so make sure to plan your trip with that in mind. There is a cute bistro on site, food trucks and even picnic spots if you want to bring your own lunch. It’s a perfect way to spend the day, immersed in the world of Josephine.
the bistro outdoor seating
Thank you for being here <3
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