Notes |
- Louise Renee de Penancoet de Keroualle (Duchess of Portsmouth andAubigny) was born in September 1649. She was from an aristocratic Frenchfamily who lived in Brittany, France. Her parents were Guillaume dePenancoet conte de Keroualle and Marie-Anne (nee de Ploeuc).(3) Louisefirst met Charles II when she went to England in the Spring of 1670. Shetravelled in the retinue of the King's sister, Henrietta Anne, Duchess ofOrleans, who had gone to England to finalise the Treaty of Dover.(4) KingCharles II was so overcome by Louise's beauty and charm that whenHenrietta offered the king one of her priceless jewels as a souvenir ofher visit, he referred to Louise and said 'she is the only jewel Icovet'.(5) After Henrietta's death Louis XIV sent Louise to England tocomfort the king and to be Maid of Honour to the Queen, Catherine ofBraganza.
By 1671 Louise had replaced Barbara Villiers as the king's mistress whichwas celebrated by a mock wedding ceremony. Louise's new position providedFrance with a connection to the English monarchy and government.(6) Noevidence has been found to identify the patron of the painting. It mayhave been commissioned by Louis XIV of France as a gift for King CharlesII of England. Louis was responsible for sending Louise to England to beCharles II's mistress and he would have been keen to form a politicalconnection with England. It is also possible that Charles II could havebeen the patron as he was obsessed with his new mistress and would havebeen keen to display her image, either for his own delight or to show heroff in society, which would add to his power and status as King. Louisemay have commissioned the painting as she would have been interested inpromoting her new-found standing in society and expressing the power thatultimately went with that position. Louise became the most influentialwomen at Charles' court.(7)
The portrait of Louise de Keroualle may have been painted in 1671 ratherthan 1670 to commemorate the mock wedding. In the painting Louise holdsout her right hand as if she is going to hold that of the person next toher. The symbolism of this hand gesture was understood to refer tomarriage and was often used in portraiture at the time. Her body isangled slightly to the left of the picture, suggesting that she isturning towards an absent partner.
There are other symbolic elements in this painting. The dog, a KingCharles Spaniel relates to the king's name, Charles, after whom the breedwas named. Dogs often symbolised loyalty. Henrietta, the King's sister,owned spaniels and was often depicted holding one which showed herloyalty to her brother.(8) In the Middle Ages dogs symbolised maritalfidelity.(9) Above Louise's outstretched hand there is a mythologicalfigure who pours water from a pitcher into a large urn beneath. Thefigure, a naked boy with a strap around his chest, is probably that ofCupid who symbolised budding love.(10) Love is also symbolised by therose. In Louise's portrait there is a flower by her right hand whichcould be a rose. Roses, the emblem of Venus, the Goddess of Love, canalso indicate purity and were often included in bridal portraits in theseventeenth century.(11) The water pouring from the pitcher may alsosymbolise purity, but it can also be associated with life and fertility.Water is a cleansing element used in the sacrament of baptism to washaway sin. It is a Catholic belief that 'ritually consecrated water canbring divine blessings'.(12) As Louise was a Catholic, this idea may haveappealed to her. By the inclusion of these symbolic elements the artistmay have intended any one of these meanings to be read by the viewer.
The primary viewer of the painting would, undoubtedly, have been Louise'slover, King Charles II of England. The painting could have been intendedfor his private viewing, in which case it would probably have hung in aprivate setting such as his bedroom where he could take pleasure fromviewing his beautiful, alluring new mistress. Louise's eyes engagedirectly with the viewer. Her young, beautiful face reveals a coy, demureand pleasing expression. The low-cut dress reveals the soft delicatewhite skin of her breast. Her hair brushes sensuously around her bareneck and a ringlet falls onto her breast. This painting, depicting abeautiful, young, woman, would have been a delight for any noble man toadmire.
The admiration of attractive court ladies was common at the court ofCharles II where sexual freedom abounded. In fact, Castiglione, theultimate courtier who wrote a book on court protocol and etiquette,advised that portraits of women were 'a necessary adornment to Courtlife'.(13) At the court of Charles II women's beauty, depicted inportraits, was publicly displayed and was admired for its sensual appealrather than for the spiritual virtues that were depicted in Van Dyck'sfemale portraits at the Court of Charles I.(14) It was the king'sprerogative to have many mistresses, but having a French mistress couldhave strengthened the king's political position. As King Charles II wasproud of, and obsessed with, his new mistress, he may have had theportrait hung in a public space where he could show off his newacquisition for all to admire.
Other mistresses of the king had been admired at court. Often theirportraits were painted by the popular court painter of the era, Sir PeterLely. Lely's portraits of the 1660s showed some individuality of thesubject's face and dress. However, the portraits of the 1670s became morestandardised in composition as Lely tried to cope with the huge demandfor his work. In his standard versions the facial features of the sitterwere based on that of Barbara Villiers, whom Lely considered beautiful.The 'heavy brows and hooded, almond-shaped eyes'(15) appear in many ofLely's portraits. The head was slightly angled to one side so that theeyes glanced out sideways to meet the viewer. In portraits dated after1670, the hairstyle was usually parted in the middle, flat on the top ofthe head with curls cascading down the back of the neck and around theshoulders. It was believed that Louise may have been the trend-setter forthis particular style as it was not in vogue before her arrival inEngland and her French manners and style were often emulated.(16) Lelytypically dressed the sitter in a loose-fitting informal type of silkygown which lacked lace, embroidery of any fussy detail that wastime-consuming to paint. The informality of the dress indicated the highstatus of the sitter. People of lower rank could not appear moreinformally dressed than their betters.(17) The dress, usually low-cut,sensuously accentuated the line of the body underneath the dress. Thesitter was often shown in three-quarter length or sitting in a minimallypainted landscape setting posing as a shepherdess or a Venus.
From "Portrait of Louise de Keroualle by Pauline Ward" athttp://www.nzartmonthly.co.nz/ward_001.html
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