Gabrielle d’Estrees and one of her sisters (c. 1600), Artist Unknown, School of Fontainbleu, 96 x 125 cm , Paris, Musee du Louvre
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We see before us a painting of two ladies disporting themselves in a bathing tub. They are protected by a drooping red curtain in defence from drafts, and a white robe upon the cold marble bath resting beneath their arms. The painter is unknown, and it cannot be dated in exact, the only indication we have is the style of the hair, which was prevalent in the late 16th Century.
This intriguing , beautiful painting raises many delightful questions, at first sight the viewer (you) will be unsure of what this painting represents, why is the lady holding her fellow ladies teat, how are they connected? Is it a lustful scene, maybe a parade of love. One element to take note is of the lady on the right, in her left hand she holds a ring, is it a ring of marriage, eternity? What is the premise for the background frame, who is she, what is she doing, what is the green box laying at her feet, what is the connection between this and the two ladies in the foreground. I shall explore these alluring elements, not to give answers, as this is never my intention… but to identify the historical background to this painting by providing observations. Of course the answers are only questions, and your own personal thoughts of what this painting means to you, that is the closest answer you will possibly devise . Thus I begin
Why does this painting fascinate me? Whilst investigating paintings of the 17th Century, I came across this intriguing painting, one of the very first elements bought to my attention (.. and I imagine to all of our attention as viewers) is the lady on the left pinching the nipple of the lady on the right. I asked myself why is she doing this?, what does it represent? I then began to think, what would viewers of the 17th Century make of this picture, surly there is a deeper, fascinating symbol behind this central image. This sparked me into some delightful research, which voyaged me into the realms of Witchcraft, Passion, Religion and Scandal, and I can’t wait to provide you with a synopsis behind the meanings of this intriguing painting.
From the beautiful romantic vermilion red of the overhanging robe, to the glimmer of light omitting from the fireplace in the background, against the snow white skin of the ladies. This painting is a very theatrical one in every sense of the word, the red curtains at the very top of the piece reminds me of a theatre and the opening and close of the play. This gives the painting a hidden , private quality, it’s as if we were never meant to see this scene, and the fact that the artist is unknown adds to this. I very often , when I look at paintings conjure words, or poems or even particular quotes that have resonance, for this painting represents a “parade of love”. What is also fascinating, is that the painting for me viewing it, has two ongoing stories, as if the painter has merged two pieces together. Looking now, at the background, it is a very private scene, and very haunting, alike to walking a country estate at nightfall, incognito and passing a room with an open door and seeing this image. We are not meant to have the pleasure in viewing this, it is of a lady sitting, thinking… indicating the topic is probably a sad one. Whereas, at the forefront the ladies are proud, open bodied, standing astute of their beauty. The hand gestures are feminine and soft yet focused and purposeful. Both ladies are very well presented, their hair is beautiful and in their ears rest the most wonderful tear drop earrings. The dark background brings attention to both ladies; very similar to the work of Caravaggio in directing attention to the centre pieces with dark backgrounds.
At the time of this painting, having a bath in France was a very rare thing, during the 16th / 17th Centuries the general condition of every class was of great “Filthiness”…. Why was this the case ? One of the main reasons was that during the middle ages, Baths and steam-houses was more of a “social/ deviant encounter of lust”, lets say between men and women. Syphilis had become rife , Bath-Houses became dangerous places; giving rise to Doctors warning against the use of them.
Medical Scientist Jean de Renou observes, “One’s hands might be washed, but the feet should only rarely be in contact with water and the head, if possible, never”
As we have observed, the ladies are very well presented, with beautiful droplet jewellery, powdered cheeks and delightfully braided hair. This indicates that rather than bathing for hygiene purposes, they instead are doing so in the interest of beauty. It has been argued by Art Historians that they would not actually be bathing in water, but rather in milk or wine (such ingredients had a marriage with perpetuating youth).
According to Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen, “in 1610 a Hungarian lady, Countess Bathory, went even further for her beauty’s sake and bathed in the blood of slaughtered virgins”
Magical powers were often attributed to the notion of Bathing, not only for blood but for all other fluids also; it was seen in Superstitious terms. Please note as I proceed I shall be discussing Witchcraft , I must make clear, the burning of supposed Witches was an tragic historical revisit. When I use the word(s) Witchcraft or Witches , I reference the propaganda at the time, that Witches were women of “evil magic powers in pact with the Devil”, the enemy of God.
According to the records of Witch trials , Witches prepared for their Sabbath (a supposed annual midnight meeting of witches with the Devil) by taking a bath. In the wake of propaganda, Witches would use firewood to warm the water and burnt herbs that had a deadening effect, at the time this was observed as “raising the devil, in which the Devil was said to “copulate with them in the bathtub” As the clergy condemned Witchcraft , and bathing alike, the two activities were very often synonymous.
Circa 1600, when this painting was produced, there was much influence from the Renaissance period, with Italian paintings of Goddesses unclothed bathing in springs. In France, painting influences followed the same concepts, “court beauties had themselves painted rising from the waves”; the emergence of this painting is a part of this very movement
There is an inscription on a later version of this particular work which indicates that the lady on the right of the picture is Gabrielle d’Estrees. She was the most Beautiful and the most hated women of her period, but she was favourite of the King. Gabrielle was born in 1573, she arrived at the court of the last Valois king at the delicate age of 15. She was known to have been involved in many affairs. After the assassination of Henri III during the religious wars, Henri IV took over the reign, and Gabrielle soon became of the Kings favour.
Gabrielle was very beautiful, her skin was soft and smooth and “translucent as a pearl” , she was perfectly long limbed with long flowing hair. “She wore a dress of white silk, it seemed black compared with the snow of her skin”
Art Historians have also arrived at the conclusion that the lady on the left is that of her sister, the Duchess of Villars, the image of her Eloquent hands a grasp of her sisters nipple, is an image that raises many questions of intrigue. This gesture is an intimate one, maybe implying a lesbian relationship, to contemporaries this answer may seem like a possibility, but for the viewers of the time it simply symbolises that Gabrielle d’Estress was pregnant. This gesture was the symbol to signify pregnancy, conventionally we look at the stomach as a first signal, but a rounded stomach in the Renaissance period (especially paintings) was a feature of beauty in the female form, not an indication of pregnancy.
Gabrielle had children by Henri IV on four occasions, in 1594 she birthed a son named Cesar, and then another son, and then a daughter . In 1599 she was pregnant once again. Henry IV’s queen , Margaret of Valois, as she did not bore him any children, it led to their separation, his kingdom did not have any true heirs. Henri IV in Gabrielle found everything he ever wanted in a women; beauty and fertility. All his children were bastards, and considered them his own without all of the “ceremony and pomposity“.
He spoke that she was, “Beauty of form, modest demeanour, gentleness of nature and spirit”
At first Gabrielle was not wholly attracted to the King, she preferred the master of the stables, M. de Bellegarde, she was bartered by her family for material advantages, and was sent to the Kings bedchamber when asked. Some say that Mr Bellegarde would linger by the bedroom of Gabrielle’s, the king fearing the two would engage in marriage, married Gabrielle to “an impotent and obedient courtier”. Gabrielle soon enjoyed her life as the concubine to the King. After the King’s conversion to Catholicism, and the conquer of Paris, the King and Gabrielle entered the City of Paris side by side. (Note – I have refrained from exploring the religious context at the time as it would require an extensive study; if interested please reference the Religious Wars of France, 1600, between the Protestants and Catholics (much a like to that of England)) She acquired lots of Gold and titles, and one could not get close to her without standing on her vermilion and decorated gown, more and more she enjoyed her status as the rightful queen. She could only stay in Paris for one night, she was scared when the King was not by her side, resulting in a move to a nearby city residence. She did not feel safe in Paris as she was not the legitimate Queen to the Throne “She was tormented more by her conscience than anyone, and did not feel safe in Paris whenever the king left the city” (Rose Marie & Rainer Hagen)
The ring which Gabrielle holds in her left hand was placed on her finger by King Henri IV on the 2nd of March, 1599. He meant it as an engagement of Gabrielle in becoming the lawful Queen to the throne, it was viewed as an outrageous move. Gabrielle publicly made clear her love for the King, and that “only God or the death of the king would come between her and her happiness”. Of the date, 1599 Henri was at the height of his power, he sat safely upon his throne, in confidence, however everyone was opposed to the marriage. The Pope labelled it as a “a stain on the honour of France”, and French Clergy were very bitter in accepting that the bastard son Cesar would be the future heir to the throne, the fruit of a twofold adultery. The French populace despised Gabrielle, and she was labelled the Queen of Filth, with her lavish affairs, and over emphasized wealth… she was very proud in showing off her jewellery. Seine Fisherman said un to Henri “You are a decent man… but you keep a dreadful whore who is ruining it for you” . The King continued with the wedding, he ordered the planning for it, and sent Gabrielle to Paris for her to spend Easter alone. Gabrielle was taken with pains on the 8th April, and the following day she gave birth to a still born child, and feel ill and died on the evening of the 10th; the King was informed of the news. Doctors declared her death “as the hand of God”, whilst muttering under their breaths “the hand of the devil more likely”
At the time, the reason for her death was not accepted by the French people, they believed she was poisoned , in providing “a great service to the king”. During the religious unrest at the time between Catholicism and Protestantism, many assassination attempts were made upon the King, therefore an assassination success upon the Queen was likely indeed; especially with her terrible reputation. Others attributed it to higher powers, as an intervention of Witchcraft. During the medieval periods, living standards were poor, famine was rife and religion was everything; a very direct consequence upon peoples lifestyles. With famine, war and woe of the times, Witchcraft flourished, especially with propaganda such as the book of “Demonology” written by King of England’s James I, written in 1597, and the rule of power. Witchcraft was a symbol of Devil worship and its practices the enemy of God; if you defy the Lord it was an act of the Devil (Shakespeare’s Hamlet, 1600).
“The Devil, had probably taken her”
Directing you to the background of the painting and as we proceed through the curtains (quite coherently), we see a lady that looks as though she is investigating or even sewing fabric, maybe a clothing item in front of the fireplace. Maybe the lady is untying all the knots of Gabrielle’s troubled life. It is a very dark room, with two pictures upon the wall with a box, draped in olive green velvet. The red of the drooping curtains and the colour of the ladies dress in vermilion symbolises the tragic nature of the story, and the very sad violent nature of state rule/ the tragedy of Witchcraft. I have used the word Vermilion often throughout this commentary, it is a word for me that springs to mind when dancing in front of this multi facetted painting. The box in investigation is actually a coffin, and the reason art historians come to this conclusion, is that green was Gabrielle’s favourite colour. Investigations also indicate the picture above the fireplace, as a representation of Gabrielle’s love affair with King Henri IV, the half clad gentleman, symbolising evocation of lust. The black picture (maybe a mirror) above the ladies head a representation of blackness, a symbol of death and attributes of Witchcraft. One of the many questions I ask myself, is who is the lady weaving the muddled life of Gabrielle, is it Gabrielle herself, in a void/ metaphor of her life, is it her sister, or the righteous Queen who could not bore the King a child? My thought, is that it is of Gabrielle herself, in a dark room, a metaphor for the tragic nature of her life.
Of the passing of Gabrielle, King Henri IV who was already “a sceptic of Witchcraft” declared that there would be an immediate stop to the prosecution of Witches. There was word that there were over one hundred thousand Witches in France alone, this was tragically an output of the torture of a lady, who was forced to confess that this was the case. Even a sceptical king could not save them all; in Bordeaux of 1609, one judge condemned 80 Witches to flames in a single day.
I shall now bring this to a close by writing a synopsis of my feelings when I view and read about this painting. When learning about such stories from paintings that bring intrigue, joy through beauty, but most significantly reading of the historical context, I extend my sight and my hearing, I learn more about the world, how it has, does and will work. A lot of our history is born out of abuse and violence, the idea that such atrocities of Witchcraft existed is so tragic and sad. There are many more examples of such tragedies, abuse of the poor (through famine and disease), the people in the workhouse’s of Industrial Europe, the slave trade from the pyramids of Egypt to the shores of England, and all between. I could continue to provide examples a many. The thing we need to remember is this, to understand the horrific implications for the lives we live today, when we walk the beautiful estates of Europe, or the pathways of the busy streets we must consider the sacrifice of others, and consider this when moving forward. I must end in saying , we must not forget all of the wonderful people too, the world has seen very many beautiful souls that have given (giving, and will give) everything for the cause of a greater, more equal and joyous world. It is just the case that this painting evokes the thoughts of such, when so directly annotating the horrid ideology of Witchcraft, and then I begin to reflect of the other tragedies.
Best Wishes all and Kindest Regards, Ollie
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I must thank, and give reference to – “100 Masterpieces in Detail”, by Rose-Marie & Rainer Hagen, TASCHEN, No date identified.
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