The Romantic lovers of the ‘Belle Epoque’ had known each other since their youth, at a time when the young Parisian Georgette AGUTTE paid a visit to her aunt whose house was next to Marcel SEMBAT’s parents’house in Bonnières sur Seine.
Georgette first married an art critic, Paul FLAT, form whom she divorced in order to marry Marcel SEMBAT in 1897 who became that very year honorary member of the Autumn Art Exhibition.
Marcel SEMBAT as an amateur and patron of arts and Georgette AGUTTE as a painter and sculptor were involved in a complementary way in the avant-garde plastic arts. The couple also shared a keen enthusiasm for music mainly WAGNER and DEBUSSY and such Russian composers as MOUSSORGSKY and STRAVINSKY. They kept in touch with Francis POLENC. With their passion for the mountains, they often went to Chamonix where they had a chalet. They practised mountaineering and skiing. They went on long journeys to Spain, Italy, Egypt, Corfu…They were crazy about Nature, Culture, Life.
Marcel SEMBAT and Georgette AGUTTE built up a very close couple that was regretfully to remain childless.
In September 1922, they were staying in their Chamonix chalet. On 4th September 1922, Marcel SEMBAT died suddenly of a brain hemorrage. Around midnight, Georgette AGUTTE wrote a letter to her nephew André VARAGNAC : “He died twelve hours ago : I am late…” And…she joined him.