Martine de Béhague, an aesthete during the Belle Époque.

Flamboyant yet secretive, Martine de Béhague (1870-1939) was one of the most intriguing personalities of her time. For fifty years, this friend of poets, musicians, and artists sailed the oceans on her yacht, Le Nirvana , acquiring the most beautiful objects, books, and works of art of all times and cultures. A simple collector? No, but a soul in search of perfection and ideals through the beauty of the world.