La Divine Comtesse
September 16, 2017 7:37 PM Subscribe
Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione (1837 – 1899) was an Italian aristocrat, a secret agent/courtesan sent to plead the cause of Italian unity with Emperor Napoleon III, and a photographic artist whose association with French photographer Pierre-Louise Pierson from 1856 to 1895 resulted in about 700 portraits of herself (Metropolitan Museum, Réunion des Musées Nationaux), many of them extravagant, excentric, and truly fascinating, such as the famous Game of madness (Scherzo di follia). Those in a hurry can click on Buzzfeed's top 25 Castiglione pictures. Others pictures and explanations can be found below the fold.
In 1856, the 18-year old and recently married Virginia Oldoini was sent to Paris by her uncle Camillo Cavour, Prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, to seduce Napoleon III and win him to the Italian cause by any means necessary. She began sitting for Mayer and Pierson, photographers favoured by the imperial court.
Milan (1856). One of her first pictures by Pierson and quite unremarkable. This would change, as young Virginia quickly figured out the photographic media. While the pictures were taken by Pierson, she was the one who chose the poses, the costumes, the mood and directed the shoots, making her a pioneer in artistic photography. Her collaboration with Pierson would last almost 40 years.
The gaze (1856–57). One of her first remarkable pictures. "The gaze" is the title given to this image by Robert de Montesquiou, a dandy and poet who collected her portraits, owned a mould of her feet, and later wrote her biography ("La Divine Comtesse") in 1913.
The countess often wore spectacular dresses, which probably helped her to win the Emperor's attention. She became his mistress in June 1856.
The Queen of Hearts (1861-63) . The countess wore this risqué and allusive dress during a costume ball in February 1857. Empress Eugenie de Montijo (who had been away giving birth while her husband and the countess were getting busy in public) commented dryly that "the heart was a little low". The countess' vanity and arrogance was getting on people's nerves and while she never lacked male friends, the French imperial court never adopted her.
Some other stunning dresses:
The Queen of Etruria (1863). Worn in February 1863 at a fancy-dress ball.
The moiré dress (1860s)
The cut knot (1861-67)
The Marquise Mathilde (1861–66), a Mardi Gras costume she wore in 1857.
The Queen of Night (1863–67)
Elvira (1861-97). Note that she just put her arms through the sleeves and does not actually wear the dress!
The Vengeance (ca 1863). This image, where she wears the "Queen of Etruria" dress, was sent to her estranged husband following his threat to remove their son from her care. She kept her son.
Funeral (1861-65). That one is pretty dark.
Virginia Oldoini was a proto-cosplayer: she loved to impersonate famous tragic figures...
Judith. Also known as "Assassination", another murder photo.
Mary Stuart (1860s)
Ann Boleyn (1861-1867)
The Ristori series (1860s). Adelaide Ristori (1822-1906) was the most popular and influential Italian tragedian of the 19th Century.
... "exotic" women...
Cauchoise series (1865). Traditional costume from the Pays de Caux, in Normandy.
The caracul series (1860s). She's supposed to be a Russian noblewoman and wears a karacul (astrakhan) dress.
Reclining Chinese woman
Standing Chinese woman
Algerian woman
...and nuns!
The white nun (1856-57)
Sister Elize (1865)
The Hermite of Passy (1863). She showed up dressed like this at a catholic charity event in April 1863. The attendance, who had waited for hours and expected something truly spectacular from her, was... disappointed.
A number of her photographs, and her most famous ones, use onirical, inventive, expressive and often surprising poses.
Game of madness, her most famous portrait.
The opera ball (1861–67), one of many images featuring her bare shoulders and/or mirrors.
A Sunday (1861-1866). Same dress as above.
Watching eyes (1860). Another mirror play.
Extasis (1860s)
Interrogation (1860s)
Facepalming (1860s). OK the actual title is "The countess at table with hand to face".
Reclining in dark dress (1861–65)
Noon and Midnight (1861-1867)
Tall (1863). The child is her son Giorgio.
The silk dress (1861-67)
Virginia Oldoini was supposed to be the most beautiful woman of her time. She was also a top-ranking courtesan, depending on aristocrats, financiers, and politicians to support her lavish lifestyle and her artistic endeavours. So a little advertising did not hurt.
The beautiful décolleté (1860s)
The beautiful arms (1865)
Drooping shoulders (1865)
The legs (1860s)
The nape (1861–67)
Many of her photographs were meant to be retouched and painted over, at great expense.
Fright (1860s). The untouched photo.
Fright, study (1861–67). The photo retouched by the countess with precise instructions.
Fright, final (1861–67). The final image fullly painted and retouched.
Ritrosetta (1861-1894, retouched)
Portrait in a White Dress (1856–57, painted and retouched)
Her glory days in the courts of Europe came to an end in 1867. In 1870, she was in Florence when Napoleon III called on her to plead on Bismarck to not to humiliate France further by occupying Paris. Italian unity was achieved in 1871 (but her actual role is disputed). She was back in France in 1872 where she kept having high-profile liaisons. In 1878, she moved to an apartment at 26, Place Vendôme. She became a recluse, living in black-walled, mirrorless rooms, barely seeing other people and going out wearing a veil. In 1875, she briefly resumed posing for Pierson, then stopped again. She came back to the studio in 1893, at 56, and made several series of photographs where she tried in vain to recapture the pictorial glory of her youth, using similar poses and concepts.
Rachel (1893). I guess that this alludes to the French tragedian Rachel (1821-1858).
The ermine coat (1895)
The rose series (1895)
The rose series (1895)
The feet (1894). The countess had been very proud of them in her youth.
Reflection on the Police mirror (1894-1895) (the French title doesn't make sense).
The countess died in 1899, with her stuffed dogs as sole companions.
Biographic elements taken from Wikipedia, Plume d'Histoire, La Divine Comtesse: Photographs of the Countess de Castiglione and La Castiglione: Vies et métamorphoses.
In 1856, the 18-year old and recently married Virginia Oldoini was sent to Paris by her uncle Camillo Cavour, Prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, to seduce Napoleon III and win him to the Italian cause by any means necessary. She began sitting for Mayer and Pierson, photographers favoured by the imperial court.
Milan (1856). One of her first pictures by Pierson and quite unremarkable. This would change, as young Virginia quickly figured out the photographic media. While the pictures were taken by Pierson, she was the one who chose the poses, the costumes, the mood and directed the shoots, making her a pioneer in artistic photography. Her collaboration with Pierson would last almost 40 years.
The gaze (1856–57). One of her first remarkable pictures. "The gaze" is the title given to this image by Robert de Montesquiou, a dandy and poet who collected her portraits, owned a mould of her feet, and later wrote her biography ("La Divine Comtesse") in 1913.
The countess often wore spectacular dresses, which probably helped her to win the Emperor's attention. She became his mistress in June 1856.
The Queen of Hearts (1861-63) . The countess wore this risqué and allusive dress during a costume ball in February 1857. Empress Eugenie de Montijo (who had been away giving birth while her husband and the countess were getting busy in public) commented dryly that "the heart was a little low". The countess' vanity and arrogance was getting on people's nerves and while she never lacked male friends, the French imperial court never adopted her.
Some other stunning dresses:
The Queen of Etruria (1863). Worn in February 1863 at a fancy-dress ball.
The moiré dress (1860s)
The cut knot (1861-67)
The Marquise Mathilde (1861–66), a Mardi Gras costume she wore in 1857.
The Queen of Night (1863–67)
Elvira (1861-97). Note that she just put her arms through the sleeves and does not actually wear the dress!
The Vengeance (ca 1863). This image, where she wears the "Queen of Etruria" dress, was sent to her estranged husband following his threat to remove their son from her care. She kept her son.
Funeral (1861-65). That one is pretty dark.
Virginia Oldoini was a proto-cosplayer: she loved to impersonate famous tragic figures...
Judith. Also known as "Assassination", another murder photo.
Mary Stuart (1860s)
Ann Boleyn (1861-1867)
The Ristori series (1860s). Adelaide Ristori (1822-1906) was the most popular and influential Italian tragedian of the 19th Century.
... "exotic" women...
Cauchoise series (1865). Traditional costume from the Pays de Caux, in Normandy.
The caracul series (1860s). She's supposed to be a Russian noblewoman and wears a karacul (astrakhan) dress.
Reclining Chinese woman
Standing Chinese woman
Algerian woman
...and nuns!
The white nun (1856-57)
Sister Elize (1865)
The Hermite of Passy (1863). She showed up dressed like this at a catholic charity event in April 1863. The attendance, who had waited for hours and expected something truly spectacular from her, was... disappointed.
A number of her photographs, and her most famous ones, use onirical, inventive, expressive and often surprising poses.
Game of madness, her most famous portrait.
The opera ball (1861–67), one of many images featuring her bare shoulders and/or mirrors.
A Sunday (1861-1866). Same dress as above.
Watching eyes (1860). Another mirror play.
Extasis (1860s)
Interrogation (1860s)
Facepalming (1860s). OK the actual title is "The countess at table with hand to face".
Reclining in dark dress (1861–65)
Noon and Midnight (1861-1867)
Tall (1863). The child is her son Giorgio.
The silk dress (1861-67)
Virginia Oldoini was supposed to be the most beautiful woman of her time. She was also a top-ranking courtesan, depending on aristocrats, financiers, and politicians to support her lavish lifestyle and her artistic endeavours. So a little advertising did not hurt.
The beautiful décolleté (1860s)
The beautiful arms (1865)
Drooping shoulders (1865)
The legs (1860s)
The nape (1861–67)
Many of her photographs were meant to be retouched and painted over, at great expense.
Fright (1860s). The untouched photo.
Fright, study (1861–67). The photo retouched by the countess with precise instructions.
Fright, final (1861–67). The final image fullly painted and retouched.
Ritrosetta (1861-1894, retouched)
Portrait in a White Dress (1856–57, painted and retouched)
Her glory days in the courts of Europe came to an end in 1867. In 1870, she was in Florence when Napoleon III called on her to plead on Bismarck to not to humiliate France further by occupying Paris. Italian unity was achieved in 1871 (but her actual role is disputed). She was back in France in 1872 where she kept having high-profile liaisons. In 1878, she moved to an apartment at 26, Place Vendôme. She became a recluse, living in black-walled, mirrorless rooms, barely seeing other people and going out wearing a veil. In 1875, she briefly resumed posing for Pierson, then stopped again. She came back to the studio in 1893, at 56, and made several series of photographs where she tried in vain to recapture the pictorial glory of her youth, using similar poses and concepts.
Rachel (1893). I guess that this alludes to the French tragedian Rachel (1821-1858).
The ermine coat (1895)
The rose series (1895)
The rose series (1895)
The feet (1894). The countess had been very proud of them in her youth.
Reflection on the Police mirror (1894-1895) (the French title doesn't make sense).
The countess died in 1899, with her stuffed dogs as sole companions.
Biographic elements taken from Wikipedia, Plume d'Histoire, La Divine Comtesse: Photographs of the Countess de Castiglione and La Castiglione: Vies et métamorphoses.
The countess' vanity
who DARES
a life in service to the beauty heaped upon her by an inscrutable Nature and brought to full fruition by a painstaking devotion to art is as free from vanity as is the priest's daily devotion to his infinitely duller God. I suppose some people call priests' love of dresses and dressing up vain too
well, I suppose I call it that myself. but it's selfless vanity, anyhow.
where she tried in vain to recapture the pictorial glory of her youth
I mean if surpassing in splendor is trying in vain to recapture then sure
not all of them, but the second of the rose series for sure
posted by queenofbithynia at 8:45 PM on September 16, 2017 [14 favorites]
who DARES
a life in service to the beauty heaped upon her by an inscrutable Nature and brought to full fruition by a painstaking devotion to art is as free from vanity as is the priest's daily devotion to his infinitely duller God. I suppose some people call priests' love of dresses and dressing up vain too
well, I suppose I call it that myself. but it's selfless vanity, anyhow.
where she tried in vain to recapture the pictorial glory of her youth
I mean if surpassing in splendor is trying in vain to recapture then sure
not all of them, but the second of the rose series for sure
posted by queenofbithynia at 8:45 PM on September 16, 2017 [14 favorites]
these should be required illustrations to Dinesen's The Old Chevalier. or do I mean that story should be required reading to accompany a gaze at the Countess? no matter
"...in those days a woman's body was a secret which her clothes did their utmost to keep. [...]The long tight stays, the whalebones, skirts and petticoats, bustle and draperies, all that mass of material under which the women of my day were buried where they were not laced together as tightly as they could possibly stand -- all aimed at one thing: to disguise.
Out of a tremendous froth of trains, pleatings, lace, and flounces which waved and undulated, secundum artem, at every movement of the bearer, the waist would shoot up like the chalice of a flower, carrying the bust, high and rounded as a rose, but imprisoned in whalebone up to the shoulder. Imagine now how different life must have appeared and felt to creatures living in those tight corsets within which they could just manage to breathe, and in those fathoms of clothes which they dragged along with them wherever they walked or sat, and who never dreamed that it could be otherwise [...] you talked of her figure as you talked of her salon, with the admiration which one gives to the achievement of a skilled and untiring artist. [...]
" Indeed, the haughtiness of the pretty young girl, or the old ladies' majesty, existed no more on account of personal vanity, or on any personal account whatever, than did the pride of Michelangelo himself, or the Spanish Ambassador to France.
and so on. just to give some credit to the mighty source wherefrom I plagiarize all my ideas
posted by queenofbithynia at 8:59 PM on September 16, 2017 [8 favorites]
"...in those days a woman's body was a secret which her clothes did their utmost to keep. [...]The long tight stays, the whalebones, skirts and petticoats, bustle and draperies, all that mass of material under which the women of my day were buried where they were not laced together as tightly as they could possibly stand -- all aimed at one thing: to disguise.
Out of a tremendous froth of trains, pleatings, lace, and flounces which waved and undulated, secundum artem, at every movement of the bearer, the waist would shoot up like the chalice of a flower, carrying the bust, high and rounded as a rose, but imprisoned in whalebone up to the shoulder. Imagine now how different life must have appeared and felt to creatures living in those tight corsets within which they could just manage to breathe, and in those fathoms of clothes which they dragged along with them wherever they walked or sat, and who never dreamed that it could be otherwise [...] you talked of her figure as you talked of her salon, with the admiration which one gives to the achievement of a skilled and untiring artist. [...]
" Indeed, the haughtiness of the pretty young girl, or the old ladies' majesty, existed no more on account of personal vanity, or on any personal account whatever, than did the pride of Michelangelo himself, or the Spanish Ambassador to France.
and so on. just to give some credit to the mighty source wherefrom I plagiarize all my ideas
posted by queenofbithynia at 8:59 PM on September 16, 2017 [8 favorites]
where she tried in vain to recapture the pictorial glory of her youth
Yeah, these pictures are gorgeous - maybe less full of ostentation in dress, but she was a beautiful woman up until the end. I see no deterioration.
posted by corb at 3:49 AM on September 17, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yeah, these pictures are gorgeous - maybe less full of ostentation in dress, but she was a beautiful woman up until the end. I see no deterioration.
posted by corb at 3:49 AM on September 17, 2017 [3 favorites]
Such a beautifully curated post!
posted by mightshould at 3:56 AM on September 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by mightshould at 3:56 AM on September 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
What a terrific post! Thank you, elgilito.
For those curious, as I was, the French tragedian Rachel was Rachel Félix, a.k.a. Mademoiselle Rachel—another mistress of Napoleon III, though before la Comtesse's time! I certainly see the resemblance between the photograph and the images of Rachel on that wikipedia page.
(Then I wondered if the character of Rachel 'when from the Lord' in Proust's In Search of Lost Time was inspired by Mademoiselle Rachel, and found this essay, which I've not yet finished reading but which does at least explain where that nickname came from.)
posted by daisyk at 5:24 AM on September 17, 2017
For those curious, as I was, the French tragedian Rachel was Rachel Félix, a.k.a. Mademoiselle Rachel—another mistress of Napoleon III, though before la Comtesse's time! I certainly see the resemblance between the photograph and the images of Rachel on that wikipedia page.
(Then I wondered if the character of Rachel 'when from the Lord' in Proust's In Search of Lost Time was inspired by Mademoiselle Rachel, and found this essay, which I've not yet finished reading but which does at least explain where that nickname came from.)
posted by daisyk at 5:24 AM on September 17, 2017
What amazing images. I'm especially struck by the fact that she is not smiling for the camera. So there was a time when a woman could fail to smile, and still be credible?
posted by Weftage at 7:49 AM on September 17, 2017
posted by Weftage at 7:49 AM on September 17, 2017
So there was a time when a woman could fail to smile, and still be credible?
I don't think the Professional Beauties ever did smile much, like models after them. and this woman's a countess. plus of course far above a mere PB. I don't know about this particular era technology-wise but people say longer exposure times and the consequent necessity of holding still are why nobody smiles in old photographs.
but I don't believe that at all, a woman who can wear a corset can smile unmoving for five minutes or as long as she has to. it was just a better beauty standard, if not a freer one -- until I guess midway through the American Century, the Mona Lisa was as smiley as a beautiful woman gets, and you can't even tell if she's really smiling or just had a bad orthodontist or is remembering when she used to have eyebrows and not thinking of you at all. mystery! and when the fashion is to pretend to worship a woman rather than to admit you insist she worship you, it encourages better oppressive beauty standards. better-looking, I mean.
and I think aside from aristocratic reserve and general mystery and otherworldliness, there was the more prosaic idea that moving your face leads to wrinkles and the even worse scourge of visible emotion. they weren't wrong about this one.
the Comtesse de Castiglione is one of few historical great beauties who isn't a disappointment and bewilderment to the modern eye, like Lillie Langtry. no offense to Lillie Langtry, who is gorgeous in some sketches but in almost none of her photographs. and it isn't just, again, changing beauty standards, because when you see paintings and drawings of famous beautiful women they always do look beautiful in a way recognizable to the modern eye. but to be stunning in photographs back then was its own very difficult art.
this post is great, did I say that yet
posted by queenofbithynia at 9:10 AM on September 17, 2017 [6 favorites]
I don't think the Professional Beauties ever did smile much, like models after them. and this woman's a countess. plus of course far above a mere PB. I don't know about this particular era technology-wise but people say longer exposure times and the consequent necessity of holding still are why nobody smiles in old photographs.
but I don't believe that at all, a woman who can wear a corset can smile unmoving for five minutes or as long as she has to. it was just a better beauty standard, if not a freer one -- until I guess midway through the American Century, the Mona Lisa was as smiley as a beautiful woman gets, and you can't even tell if she's really smiling or just had a bad orthodontist or is remembering when she used to have eyebrows and not thinking of you at all. mystery! and when the fashion is to pretend to worship a woman rather than to admit you insist she worship you, it encourages better oppressive beauty standards. better-looking, I mean.
and I think aside from aristocratic reserve and general mystery and otherworldliness, there was the more prosaic idea that moving your face leads to wrinkles and the even worse scourge of visible emotion. they weren't wrong about this one.
the Comtesse de Castiglione is one of few historical great beauties who isn't a disappointment and bewilderment to the modern eye, like Lillie Langtry. no offense to Lillie Langtry, who is gorgeous in some sketches but in almost none of her photographs. and it isn't just, again, changing beauty standards, because when you see paintings and drawings of famous beautiful women they always do look beautiful in a way recognizable to the modern eye. but to be stunning in photographs back then was its own very difficult art.
this post is great, did I say that yet
posted by queenofbithynia at 9:10 AM on September 17, 2017 [6 favorites]
Smiling was low for centuries in Europe -- here's the beginning of a review of a book on the subject. Smiling had become admissible in painting before photography was invented, but I don't know that it was expected yet, and everyone would have been used to portraits without.
posted by clew at 11:52 AM on September 17, 2017
posted by clew at 11:52 AM on September 17, 2017
Her The Vengeance photograph, sent to her estranged husband regarding child custody, is labeled far more chillingly at the "Top 25" link: Medea.
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:54 PM on September 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Iris Gambol at 4:54 PM on September 17, 2017 [1 favorite]
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