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Bring unique art to your space with this digital downloadable print! Upon purchase, you will receive a high-resolution file via email—no physical print will be shipped. Simply download, then print at home or through your favorite printing service in whatever size fits your needs.
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Julie d’Aubigny, better known as La Maupin (1673–1707), was a 17th-century French swordswoman, opera singer, and scandalous adventurer whose life reads like a swashbuckling novel. Born into a noble but minor family, she was trained in sword fighting by her father, who worked for King Louis XIV’s Master of the Horse. By her teenage years, she was already defying gender norms—dressing as a man, dueling with aristocrats, and seducing both men and women.
At 16, she was married off to an administrative official, but within months, she abandoned him, setting off on a whirlwind life of duels, love affairs, and opera. She took up with a fencing master, making a living by performing dazzling public duels while disguised in men’s clothing. Her reputation exploded when she became romantically involved with a young noblewoman, whose furious family sent the girl to a convent to separate them. Undeterred, Julie followed, disguising herself as a nun. In one of her most infamous stunts, she set the convent on fire to cover their escape. The girl, however, was soon returned to her family, while Julie was sentenced to death in absentia—under the name "Sieur d’Aubigny," as authorities refused to believe she was a woman.
Fleeing to Paris, she charmed and dueled her way into high society. In one legendary incident, she challenged three men to a duel at once after kissing a noblewoman at a ball. She defeated them all. Despite her reputation as a troublemaker, her undeniable talent as a singer earned her a place at the Paris Opera, where she became a sensation. Her fiery temperament continued—she reportedly beat up a fellow actress who insulted her and once threatened suicide to keep a lover.
After years of adventure, she received a royal pardon for her crimes. Yet, by her late 20s, she retired from public life and allegedly entered a convent, dying in her early 30s. A woman who lived by her own rules, La Maupin remains one of history’s most fascinating and rebellious figures.