Ugly Duchess. History of Science: British Pathologist and the Ugly Duchess The Ugly Duchess London National Gallery
Caricature as a new art form
Despite all the rationalism of the attempt to empirically reproduce the reality around us, the portrait still produces a magical effect on the observer. At the beginning of the 16th century, long before the brothers Agostino and Annibale Carraci, painters considered the founders of this new art form, caricature - an optical distortion of the human appearance, especially the face, clearly documented the psychosocial need to transfer certain features of human nature to the canvas for censure and ridicule.
The new ideal of beauty did not allow accidents in appearance. They were seen as a deviation from socially accepted ideals. Masseys methodically constructed his “Old Woman” according to the principles of systematic deviation from the ideal of beauty. This basic method corresponds to the experiments on deformation in Dürer's book “Sketches for Proportion”.
The funny part of Masseys’s portrait for his contemporaries was his clothes. A similar cap was worn until 1450, as can be seen in Jan van Eyck's portrait of his wife Margaret.
Housed in the London National Gallery.
At the beginning of the 16th century, long before the brothers Agostino and Annibale Carraci, painters considered the founders of this new art form, caricature - an optical distortion of the human appearance, especially the face, clearly documented the psychosocial need to transfer certain features of human nature to the canvas for censure and ridicule.
Deformation and even destruction of facial features - the nose, mouth, forehead or ears - causes a feeling of laughter due to the revealed weakness of the character - the desire to see oneself, despite one's advanced age, as a young, desirable seductress, and to attract admiring glances. The portrait by Quentin Masseys, bearing characteristic grotesque forms of the image, is, from a compositional point of view, a typical example for the Netherlands and Italy of the 15th century.
An old woman in a huge cap and flabby breasts, compressed by the lacing of a corset, behind the parapet, on which she placed her left hand, and in her right hand holds a bud, which emphasizes the artist’s mockery of his heroine. It is doubtful that the painting is truly a portrait. The painting is most likely based on a work that has not survived to this day, which Leonardo may have used for his early drawing. According to researchers, Leonardo had an insatiable interest in unusual faces, freaks, which were even more intriguing to him because of his work on a system of ideal body proportions.
The new ideal of beauty did not allow accidents in appearance. They were seen as a deviation from socially accepted ideals. Masseys methodically constructed his “Old Woman” according to the principles of systematic deviation from the ideal of beauty. This basic method corresponds to the experiments on deformation in Dürer's book “Sketches for Proportion”.
The funny part of Masseys’s portrait for his contemporaries was his clothes. A similar cap was worn until 1450, as can be seen from the portrait of Jan van Eyck depicting his wife Margaret.
With their grotesque pseudo-portraits, Leonardo and Masseys created a precedent where an image that has nothing in common with the original can be used for various satirical purposes. So it is found in various graphic reproductions, for example, under the title “Queen of Tunisia” by Wenceslas Hollar or as a portrait of Margaret of Tyrol. Finally, in the 17th century, as a portrait of the sister of Pope Pius VI, Princess Porcia, who with the army of the Jesuits tried to save religion.
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Margarita Maultash(1318-October 3, 1369. Maultash - nickname) - the last ruler of the independent county of Tyrol (from 1335 to 1365) and, according to popular tradition, the ugliest woman to go down in history.
Today it is extremely difficult to say something definite about her appearance, because the only lifetime image of Margarita of Tyrol: on her personal seal - a slender woman in full height, her facial features are impossible to make out... but we can say with confidence that this woman had a strong character and great courage.
seal of Margaret of Tyrol, approximately 1366
Margaret was the second daughter of Henry of Horutan, King of Bohemia (1307-1310), Duke of Carinthia and Count of Tyrol (1310-1335), her elder sister died at the age of eight in 1325. In 1330, eleven-year-old Margaret was married to seven-year-old Johann Heinrich, the youngest son of the Czech king John of Luxembourg and the future Margrave of Moravia.
Portrait of John Henry, Margrave of Moravia. Peter Parler and the workshop. Between 1379-1386, St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague
Margarita had no brothers and after the death of her father she became the only representative of the Gorizko-Tyrol dynasty, but in accordance with the agreement concluded between the Habsburgs and the Gorizko-Tyrolian house in 1282, in the event of the termination of the male line of the latter, its possessions were to pass to the Habsburgs. The Austrian Duke Albrecht II immediately occupied Carinthia and Carniola, but in Tyrol he encountered resistance from neighboring Bavaria, which also laid claim to the legacy of Henry of Horutan. According to the Austro-Bavarian Treaty of 1335, Carinthia and South Tyrol went to Austria, and North Tyrol to Bavaria. But the Tyroleans themselves opposed the division of their country. An uprising broke out demanding the restoration of the rightful heir to the throne. The Austrians and Bavarians were forced to leave the country and recognize Margaret as ruler of the Tyrol.
The young countess found support both from the local aristocracy and from the Landtag (Landtag, the state parliament is a body whose members are elected from representatives of the people) of Tyrol, which at this time began to increase its influence on politics, turning Tyrol into an estate monarchy.
In November 1341, with the support of the Tyrolean nobility, who entered into a secret alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig of Bavaria, Margaret expelled her husband Johann Heinrich from Tyrol. At the same time, it was announced that the spouses were not in a de facto marital relationship. On this basis, the emperor declared the marriage invalid. She was 23 years old then... by our standards, still a very young girl...
Ludwig V, Duke of Bavaria
Margaret married his eldest son Ludwig V Wittelsbach, Margrave of Brandenburg on 10 September 1342 in Merano.
And although the lack of actual marital relations in Europe was traditionally taken into account by the church as a valid reason for divorce, the papal curia insisted on preserving the marriage between Margaret and Johann Heinrich, and her new marriage aroused the indignation of Ludwig of Bavaria's political opponent, Pope Clement VI. Margaret and her husband were excommunicated from the church, and an interdict was imposed on Tyrol (a temporary prohibition of all church activities and services (for example, anointing, confession, marriages, the Eucharist), imposed by the pope or bishop). In the Middle Ages, the very threat of such punishment was sometimes a very effective method of political pressure.
The scandalous circumstances of the expulsion of her first husband and the new marriage of the Tyrolean countess became widely known in Europe. Still would! after all, this was the first “secular marriage” in the history of the Middle Ages! William of Ockham and Marsilius of Padua came out in defense of Margaret and her first “secular marriage” in the history of the Middle Ages. Marsilius of Padua wrote an essay in which he argued that the emperor had the right to grant divorce. On the other hand, Pope Clement VI took advantage of this incident to discredit his opponent and his family and weaken the emperor's position in Europe.
In March 1347, Charles of Luxembourg, brother of Margaret's first husband, who by that time had become Holy Roman Emperor, invaded her possessions and besieged Tyrol Castle. However, Charles was never able to take it and, retreating, pursued by Ludwig, ravaged Merano and Bozen. Karl later made peace with Ludwig and Margarita. Oh these amazing Middle Ages! Well, just think, we fought a little...
In 1348, Johann Heinrich, wanting to enter into a new marriage, turned to the pope with a request for a divorce from Margaret. The reason was stated to be the consanguinity of husband and wife; Johann Heinrich also admitted that the marriage was never consummated, but rejected accusations of impotence. The divorce was finalized on July 21, 1349. However, for another ten years the excommunication of Margaret and Ludwig was in effect, and their marital union was not recognized by the papal curia for the same amount of time. Louis V, not wanting conflict with the Habsburgs, restored peaceful relations with Austria. With the support of Albrecht II, who petitioned Pope Innocent VI, the excommunication was lifted in 1359.
In 1347, Margaret's husband became Duke of Bavaria. This sharply increased Bavarian influence in Tyrol and created the preconditions for further unification of states. In 1361, Ludwig V died and their son Meinhard III became Margaret's co-ruler in Tyrol.
In the 1360s. pressure from the Habsburgs on Margaret of Tyrol increased. The Austrian Duke Rudolf IV, who was denied the right to even be an elector by Charles IV in his Golden Bull of 1356 (a legislative act of the Holy Roman Empire), led an active campaign to strengthen Austria's influence in Europe and expand its territory. The Tyrol was for him the most important region, providing a link between the vast Habsburg possessions in the Danube and their ancestral lands in Swabia.
In 1363, Magarita's son, Meinhard III, unexpectedly dies, and, yielding to Austrian pressure, Margarita transfers her possessions to Rudolf IV of Habsburg.
The reason for her abdication was given as “special circumstances” and “weakness of the female sex.” Bavaria tried to prevent the establishment of Austrian power over the Tyrol and invaded the territory of the county, but the Habsburgs were successful, who defeated the Bavarians in 1364. In 1369, Bavaria officially renounced its claims, receiving huge monetary compensation for this. Thus, Tyrol forever lost its independence and was included in the Austrian monarchy.
Margaret spent the rest of her life at the Austrian court and died in Vienna in 1369 at the age of fifty-one. One of the districts of Vienna bears her name: Vienna-Margareten. According to the conditions of Rudolf IV, Margaret was no longer to visit Tyrol.
“What remains of a fairy tale later, after it has been told?”
According to the description of her contemporary, the chronicler Johann von Winterthur, Margaret was a very beautiful woman, and in the painting of the first half of the 16th century she appears to us as a very pretty woman. In the engraving of the late 16th century, the image of Margorita is also quite neutral.
Margaret, Countess of Tyrol and Duchess of Bavaria. Portrait of the first half of the 16th century
Bildnis der Margarethe Maultasch von Dominicus Custos (Kupferstich, 1599)
Margarita received her nickname, Maultash, during her lifetime: it was first mentioned in 1366. Its meaning can be understood in different ways: "Maultasch" (German: Maultasch), literally translated as "dumpling", apparently a hint at her unattractive appearance (Maultasch is a popular dish in Southern Germany). There is another interpretation - “prostitute”, “vicious woman”. This is how political opponents and the church characterized her. Some historians believe that it comes from the name of Margaret's castle in South Tyrol. From the first quarter of the 15th century, the opinion was established that Margarita had an ugly mouth, which is how she earned her nickname.
There is an opinion that Margarita owes the image that remained in history precisely to her political opponents and the church, but one way or another Margarita went down in history as an ugly, ugly woman.
Drawing by Leonardo da Vinci
Ugly Duchess. Quentin Masseyn, circa 1513
The image of “the ugliest woman in history” could not help but be reflected in art. In 1816, Jacob Grimm, one of the Grimm brothers, collected legends about Margaret of Tyrol, publishing them in the collection “German Sagas” (unfortunately, this collection is not yet available in Russian).
An old woman in a huge cap and flabby breasts, compressed by the lacing of a corset, this is how Margherita appears in the drawing by Leonardo da Vinci and, subsequently, in the painting “The Ugly Duchess” by Quentin Masseys, who used da Vinci’s drawing as a model, and even later the portrait of the “Ugly Duchess” "inspired John Tenniel to create the image of the Duchess in his famous illustrations for Lewis Carroll's book Alice in Wonderland.
Queen of Tunisia. Wenceslas Hollar(1607-1677)
By the way, with their grotesque pseudo-portraits, Leonardo and Masseys created a precedent when an image that has nothing in common with the original can be used for various satirical purposes. So it is found in various graphic reproductions, for example, under the title “Queen of Tunisia” by Wenceslas Hollar (1607-1677) or as a portrait of Margaret of Tyrol. So we can say that the caricatured image of Margarita has become some kind of symbol of ugliness that has remained over the centuries.
Illustration for "Alice in Wonderland". John Tenniel.1865
According to one version, the portrait is based on the image of Margaret of Tyrol, the ugliest woman who went down in history.
The illustrator of the first edition of Alice in Wonderland, John Tenniel, was inspired by the work of Quentin Massys when creating the image of the Duchess. Not exactly, but the influence was very noticeable. Let's take a look at how ugly the Duchess is described by Carroll, although in the first scene there is not even a hint of her appearance. It's full of lies. We can only imagine her appearance by looking at her actions, dialogues and words.
Present as ignorant and unfriendly. But she is a persistent fighter - she does not pay attention to pepper in the air, or dishes thrown at her. That's all that is said about her in the first scene. Plus, of course, an absolutely cynical attitude towards the child.
There is another scene where the Duchess and her behavior are completely different. We see the court of an experienced lady who can talk very sweetly if she feels like an important person.
She says something to Alice when she was invited. Basically, she's trying to be so "sweet" that she's willing to put her arm around Alice's waist (in the flamingo scene). Here's the first time we get a few words about her appearance. First of all, she is very "freak". Secondly, she has a "perceptibly sharp chin", and finally, "she was just at the right height to rest her chin on Alice's shoulder" - since she was no taller than Alice. And that's all Carroll said about her appearance.
Sir John Tenniel wants to emphasize that the Duchess is undoubtedly not beautiful, and her chin is quite far from charming. Many illustrators followed Tenniel's tradition by emphasizing the duchess's deformity with a masculine face shape.
Lewis Carroll may also have had Quentin Masseys' portrait in mind when he painted his Duchess.
And you may also get the feeling that you have seen this duchess before. This will be possible because you are familiar with one of Leonardo da Vinci's grotesques on which this painting is probably based...
The National Gallery of Literature shows that this is a cruel picture: a stupid old woman who thinks she is still a beauty. With, ahem, an expansive, generous look on his wrinkled face. Leonardo painted grotesques, of course, because he was fascinated by humanity in all its forms.
And although Masseys's duchess is ugly, she also has an attractive quality - kindness in her eyes.
Or maybe he just understands the cruelty of the low comedy of his life...
The portrait is also found in various graphic reproductions, for example, under the title “Queen of Tunisia” by Wenceslas Hollar, or as a portrait of Margaret of Tyrol.
In any case, the Ugly Duchess is immortal: being a muse for Leonardo, Masseys and Tenniel is not so bad, is it? And, unlike many of those standard beauties, not even memorable...
/author Lev Sergeev/
One of the blog authors, in addition, works as a scientific editor of the Indicator.Ru portal. Every day we publish a text from the history of science. Today we have "", which we are happy to share. James Paget, one of the founders of pathology, was born 203 years ago.
Sir James Paget
James Paget was born in 1814 in Great Yarmouth (England) into a large family of shipowners and brewers. His brother, Edward Paget, who was four years older than James, also achieved success in the scientific field, becoming professor of medicine at Cambridge University and publishing a number of works on epilepsy and fainting. For his services, he became a Knight Commander of the most honorable Order of the Bath (interestingly, its name is associated with washing, since symbolic bathing used to be part of the initiation rite).
James attended Yarmouth Day School. In the future, his parents would like to see their son as a naval officer, but at the age of 16 the young man went to study with a general practitioner, with whom he worked for four and a half years, devoting his free time to botany. During this time he collected an extensive collection of specimens of the flora of East Norfolk, and towards the end of his studies, together with one of his brothers, he published a very detailed and accurate Sketch of the Natural History of Yarmouth and the Neighboring Districts.
In October 1834, James was accepted as a student at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London (the oldest hospital in London, founded in 1123). There he described the first of the famous journal clubs (in English, a journal club is a community where the latest scientific publications in the specialty are analyzed and discussed). Medical students at the hospital were largely left to their own devices, but Paget only benefited from this: in 1835 and 1836 he took possession of all possible awards. In the very first winter session, the student, in the course of his work, discovered the causative agent of the fatal disease trichinosis, which turned out to be a miniature (about one and a half millimeter in length) round worm Trichinella spiralis, transmitted through infected meat (most often pork) and infecting the muscles of the victim.
Model of the roundworm Trichinella spiralis
David Ludwig/Wikimedia Commons
After passing the exams at the Royal College of Surgeons, Paget received the right to practice medicine, but then he had to face the harsh reality: a talented student, with all his knowledge, could not find a place and was too poor to see patients at home (James’s father by this time was carrying big losses and could not support it in any way). For the next seven years, Paget was forced to live on the brink of poverty, on just 15 pounds a year, eking out a living by publishing in medical journals and compiling museum catalogues. Perhaps the latter helped James get out: he became the caretaker of the hospital museum at the hospital, and since 1838, a demonstrator of anatomical pathologies in this museum.
Paget was then appointed lecturer at the Finsberry dispensary for the poor, where he taught general and microscopic anatomy and physiology. In addition, he needed to look after those students who lived on the territory of this small college. Paget spent eight years almost never leaving the hospital gates, he was so busy with his work.
Only after 1847 did our hero finally become an assistant surgeon and was able to devote more time to medical practice. His career took off: having carefully studied all the most important works on physiology in English, French, Danish, German, Italian, he became one of the largest physiologists and pathological surgeons of his era, for the first time making the microscope a key tool for studying pathologies, including during work with tumors. In 1858 Paget was appointed additional surgeon to the court of Queen Victoria, and in 1863 - resident surgeon to the Prince of Wales. James had the largest medical practice in London and rarely worked less than 16 hours a day. Colleagues considered him an expert in the field of tumors, problems with bones and ligaments, sending the most “difficult” patients to him for diagnosis and a final decision.
In 1871, Paget injured himself while performing a post-mortem autopsy and nearly died from an infection, forcing him to leave his medical practice so as not to put the famous doctor's life at risk. After this, the scientist received a baronetcy, an honorary degree from the University of Cambridge, became president of the Royal College of Surgeons, published many of his lectures and other works, and died only in 1899, more than 20 years later.
"The Ugly Duchess"
Quentin Masseys
Many diseases are named after Paget, which he first described. The best known of these, most often referred to simply as Paget's disease, affects one or more bones in the body (unlike, for example, osteoporosis, which affects everything). In severe forms of the disease, the bone marrow may be replaced by fibrous tissue and the bones may become deformed. Doctors associate the most famous case of the disease with one of the most popular paintings of the National Gallery in London, “The Ugly Duchess,” which became the prototype for the creation of the image of the duchess by the first illustrator of “Alice in Wonderland,” John Tenniel.
Illustration for one of the chapters of “Alice in Wonderland”
John Tenniel
Initially, this portrait of a woman whose facial features are distorted due to deformation of the skull bones, embodying old age, was considered a completely satirical work. An open dress with a corset tightening a flabby body, a cap that went out of fashion 60 years ago, a flirtatious rose in her hand and a self-confident expression on her face exposed old women trying to pass themselves off as young, attractive girls. Few art historians defended the idea that the prototype was real, but attributed the painting first to Leonardo da Vinci, from whom similar sketches were found, and then to Quentin Masseys, who supposedly could have painted the painting based on sketches by Leonardo, with whom he often exchanged works depicting deformities . However, in 2008, surgeons from University College London carefully studied the work and argued in favor of the version that the painting depicts a victim of a rare form of Paget's disease, in which the skull was affected instead of the bones of the lower body. The researchers also supported the version according to which the work was first completed by Masseys, and then copied in the form of a sketch by da Vinci himself or one of his students.
Paget himself could hardly ever allow himself such an ironic attitude towards the victims of the disease, although sometimes the medical interest and curiosity of the scientist guided his actions to a greater extent than his human qualities. They talk about a case when, during an autopsy of the body of Edwin Bartlett, whose poisoning his wife was suspected of, James Paget discovered liquid chloroform in the stomach of the deceased. If Edwin had been poisoned by giving him chloroform to drink, he would have felt a strong burning sensation in his throat and would have had to scream, but according to witnesses, the man died in silence and no screams were heard that night. Therefore, due to lack of evidence, the investigation acquitted his widow Adelaide. However, when the trial was completed, the pathologist remarked: “Now that she has been found not guilty of murder and cannot be prosecuted again, she must tell us, in the interests of science, how she did it!”