What the evidence can tell us.

Every historical claim should lead to a source: a letter, a catalog record, an artwork, a scholarly study, or a biography identified as such. A catalog entry establishes that a collection exists; it does not verify every possible reading of an unread document.

A connection in Natalie’s Constellation does not prove that someone visited her salon. The garden is an interpretive interface, not a reconstructed guest list.

Natalie’s reported private classifications remain a separate, unresolved investigation. Historical images carry creator and institutional credits, and uncertain image rights are not treated as permission to reproduce.

The archive distinguishes documented facts, compatible interpretations, disputed claims, and fictional invention. It also recognizes how wealth, class, nationality, and period change what a historical comparison can mean.