Tea at Trianon: The Comtesse de Provence as Diana

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

The Comtesse de Provence as Diana

Why Marie-Joséphine of Savoy (Marie-Antoinette's sister-in-law) twice chose to have herself depicted as the virgin goddess of the hunt is beyond me. (Via Anna Gibson.) To quote:

In this painting, Marie Joséphine has been depicted as the mythological figure of Diana, goddess of the hunt and the moon. Portraits of aristocracy, especially women, as mythological figures were particularly popular in the 16th - 18th centuries. Goddesses and muses were the most popular choices due to their association with beauty and the arts.

A bow and arrow can be seen in a resting position in the portrait, which perhaps indicates that "Diana" is being painted at rest after a good hunt. This is not unusual for aristocratic portraits of women as Diana, who are usually portrayed in more elegant and passive settings rather than being depicted in the act of hunting. At her side are two dogs, at least one of which appears to be a hunting dog.

The fashion in this painting is a romantic interpretation of the garb of a Roman goddess. The luxurious blue wrap adds a subtle touch of royal elegance to the simple white gown, which--aside from the shorter sleeves--is reminiscent of the "Trianon" fashions which rose to popularity in the 1780s. A silver headpiece with a crescent moon completes the comtesse's goddess look with a nod to Diana's association with the moon. (Read more.)