Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Reconsidered
Author(s): Zahira Veliz
Source: The Art Bulletin, Vol. 86, No. 1 (Mar., 2004), pp. 75-95
Published by: College Art Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3177401
Accessed: 20-03-2018 22:09 UTC
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
http://about.jstor.org/terms
College Art Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
The Art Bulletin
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Signs of Identity in Lady with a Fan by Diego Velazquez:
Costume and Likeness Reconsidered
Zahira Veliz
Renowned as a great portraitist in the seventeenth century, Bonaparte. While at dinner in the latter's house, the duke of
the Spaniard Diego Velazquez stands with Rembrandt as an Luynes recognized on his host's walls two pictures that had
artist whose works can be viewed as wordless essays on the formerly belonged to him, and that "he had been obliged to
human condition. In addition to serving as records of like- sell to antique dealers, in the time of sequestrations, impris-
onments, and immigrations."3 Lucien Bonaparte promptly
ness, most portraits are repositories of clues to the values that
brought artist and sitter together. Velazquez's portraits are had the pictures taken down and returned to the duke.
arresting and memorable images that invite exploration of Unfortunately, no positive evidence remains that Lady with
the circumstances of their making, which leads to a more Fan was ever inventoried in any of the family collections. The
informed reading of the artist's work. The analysis of Lady duchess of Chevreuse passed her Paris house to the son born
with a Fan can be seen as a case study that expands our waysof her first marriage and retired to the convent at Gagny in
of understanding and thinking about early modern portrai- 1663.4 Any inventories made at the time of this propert
ture. transfer have been lost. By 1847 the painting was in th
The Lady with a Fan is an enigmatic work among portraits
Hertford Collection, later forming part of the Wallace Col-
by Velazquez (Fig. 1). As painter to Philip IV of Spain,
lection. A variant of the portrait, believed to have come t
England before 1753, when it appeared in the inventory
Velazquez principally recorded the appearance of members
taken
of the Spanish royal family and the high nobility, figures that at the death of Lord Burlington, now resides at Chats-
are easy to recognize. However, the sitter in Lady with aworth
Fan (Fig. 2).5 An entry in the 1689 inventory of the marqui
has not yet been convincingly identified, despite attemptsof to
Carpio's collection-"A painting of a woman with a blac
do so, perhaps because crucial signs in the portrait have lace
been veil on her head, with a square lace collar, and yellow
misinterpreted. The portrait itself is our most reliable evi-
dress with black stripes, an original by Diego Velazquez, one
dence for the encounter between the artist and sitter, as and
littleone third vara in height, and one half and a sixth in
documentary information has come to light. The details of framed, 1000 reales"-seems to identify the Chatsworth
width,
the costume that will be analyzed below suggest the sitter is
painting.6 This portrait was in the quarta pieza (fourth room)
dressed according to French fashion of the late 1630s. There- of Carpio's house El Jardin de San Joaquin, where it hun
fore, the possibility exists that she is a Frenchwoman. Thesome twenty other portraits of men and women, about
with
only reference indicating that Velazquez painted a French- ten religious paintings, and five mythological or secular sub
woman is found in a letter dated January 16, 1638, which jects.7 The intriguing relationship between the two versions
states that he was portraying the exiled duchess of Chevreuse, will be discussed below.
then living in Madrid under the protection of Philip IV.' When we stand before the painted image of a human being
Until now, identifying the woman in Lady with a Fan with and attempt to penetrate the character, assess the status, and
Marie de Rohan, duchess of Chevreuse (1600-1679), has identify qualities of the personality represented to our eyes, we
been passed over for two reasons. First, it was believed that no imitate the encounter between the sitter and the artist. Besides
resemblance could be discerned with other portraits of the the face, visual elements that accompany it act on us in our
duchess, and second, it was assumed that her costume re- interpretation of the sitter.8 Awareness of the conventions of
vealed a Spanish tapada (a precursor to the popular majas ofrepresentation with which both artist and sitter were fluent will
the eighteenth century) or a member of Velazquez's own enrich our reading of the image, and in the case of Velazquez,
family. Arguments can now be marshaled that clarify both illuminate the "episodio biognrfico" (biographical episode)
likeness and costume and, concomitantly, the significance of within the portrait.9 As in all human encounters, there must
pose and gesture, all of which lead to a new reading of the have been expectations on both sides. The sitter, presumably,
image. was desirous of being portrayed and perhaps curious to see how
Lady with a Fan, while accepted as a painting by Velazquez, she would be perceived by a celebrated professional. She might
is distinctly short on early documents. On the basis of its well have had a clear notion of how she wished to be seen, or the
place in Velazquez's stylistic development, the portrait has code of her social class may have dictated the mode of her
been dated to 1638-39, and it was first registered in the representation. The artist would study his subject, analyze her
collection of Lucien Bonaparte in the early nineteenth cen- form, and take her physical and metaphorical measure. Sympa-
tury.2 It has been assumed that he acquired it in Spain when thy-or its absence-between artist and sitter might influence
he was there in 1801. As no earlier record of the painting in the representation, although this subjective quality would be
any Spanish collection exists, however, it is possible that he difficult to assess historically. The complex ritual of portraiture
acquired it either in England or in Italy, where he spent most in the seventeenth century relied on a series of theatrical con-
of the period of the Napoleonic Wars, or even in France, as ventions that resulted in an image more layered and composed
suggested by the episode between the then duke of Luynes, a than the pieces of reality we capture at the present time in
direct descendant of the duchess of Chevreuse, and Lucien spontaneous or random snapshots.?1
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
76 ART BULLETIN MARCH 2004 VOLUME LXXXVI NUMBER 1
1 Diego Velazquez, Lady with a Fan, ca. 1638. London, Wallace Collection (photo: By kind permission of the Trustees of the
Wallace Collection)
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
SIGNS OF IDENTITY IN LADY WITH A FAN BY DIEGO VELAZQUEZ 77
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
78 ART BULLETIN MARCH 2004 VOLUME LXXXVI NUMBER 1
the requirements of likeness and the imperative expression The loose ends in the recorded arguments about this
portrait
of his perception of character. Astute critics among his con- prompted a reexamination of the possibility of the
temporaries were quick to recognize this, foremost among sitter's identity as Marie de Rohan, duchess of Chevreuse, an
them the neo-Stoic poet Francisco de Quevedo, who in 1629 intimate friend of Anne of Austria, the Spanish-born queen
wrote the well-known silva (miscellany) in which Velazquez'sof France, and superintendent of her household as early as
intriguing play with appearance and truth is celebrated: 1621. The duchess's political conspiring brought her into
conflict with Louis XIII's prime minister, Cardinal Richelieu.
In the latter part of 1637, his antipathy, which she returned,
To the Brush
changed to active hostility, and she fled France, at the age of
By means of thee [the brush], the great Velazquez hasthirty-seven, taking temporary refuge in Spain. She counted,
been able
perhaps, on her great friendship with Anne of Austria to
(being as skillful as he is clever), stand her in good stead with her brother, Philip IV of Spain,
thus to give life to the beautiful and thus to give sensa-
from whom she hoped to receive a gracious welcome. The
tion to the soft,
situation was delicate in the extreme, since Spain was at war
with the distant blobs [of paint] with France. Contemporary accounts of her escape have all
which are truth itself and not resemblances.20
the elements of a romantic adventure by Alexandre Dumas,
but the details recorded in the days immediately following
her flight bear witness to the truth of events.30 On September
Finally, Peter Paul Rubens's opinion on Velazquez's portraiture
7, 1637, the duchess made for the Spanish frontier on horse-
as recorded by Pacheco is relevant to our study of Lady with a
Fan. Pacheco wrote that Rubens and Velazquez were friends, departing from Touraine dressed as a young gentleman
back,
and accompanied only by two grooms. Her disguise was
and that the older artist "greatly favored [Velazquez's] works for
successful,
their modestia."2' Modestia in this context seems to convey the
and she reached the Pyrenees sometime late in
September, crossing a short distance into Spain to a monastic
decorum of the image, the quiet propriety and authority appar-
hospice in the high mountains, from where she awaited
ent in the absence of flashy virtuosity.22 It seems that Velazquez's
permission
skill in portraiture was identified more with his ability to com-
from the Spanish authorities to advance.31 She
also
municate truth of character than with facile ability to record
obtained there some clothing "befitting her sex and
station."32
mere physical likeness. Indeed, exact representation might well
If the duchess of Chevreuse was subsequently
painted
have been too closely associated with Quevedo's semejantes (re-
in Madrid with "the French air and costume" by
semblance) in contrast to verdad (truth). Velazquez, then when she abandoned her male disguise, she
must consciously have chosen clothing to declare herself for
what she was: a high-born French lady. Her progress on the
The Duchess of Chevreuse Spanish side of the Pyrenees is recorded in contemporary
documents,
On a practical level, in the past the problem of likeness has particularly the letters addressed to a Jesuit in
Seville from
been a stumbling block to the identification of the woman in his correspondents among theJesuits in Madrid,
a rich
Lady with a Fan. There is no early record of the sitter's nameand varied source of news and events at the court.33
or title to help us with the usual questions: What After
kind receiving
of permission from the duke of Cardona, viceroy
of Cataluna,
woman do we see? Is she Spanish? Is she a lady of rank? For to proceed into Spain, she remained some weeks
whom was she painted? The answers must be sought by under the protection of the marquis de los Velez in Zaragoza.
looking closely at clues in the portrait. The sitter'sShe reached Guadalajara on November 25, where she met
steady,
considering gaze makes it clear that this is a portrait with
rather
the king and "discussed the business that had brought her
into Spain."34 On December 6, she made a magnificent entry
than a genre figure. She appears to be past her first youth,
into Madrid
between thirty-five and forty years of age, and is dressed in and was received with honor and affection by the
brown shot silk. She holds expensive but not ostentatious
king and queen and by the count and countess of Olivares.
accessories, and her bearing is dignified and grave. TakenThe duchess of Chevreuse spent December and January at
together, these details suggest that we are looking at athe
ladySpanish
of court, enjoying the masques, banquets, and bull-
high standing.23 Other suggestions concerning thefights sitter's
of the season preceding Lent. By February 13, however,
identity have been proposed, but they have been inconclu-
despite the king's insistence that she should remain, the duch-
ess, accompanied by two envoys of the English crown, was on
sively argued. The sitter has been seen variously as a female
relation of the painter;24 a courtesan;25 and a tapada-liter-
her way across the Castilian plain toward La Coruna. There an
ally, one concealed-a woman who, hidden under a conceal-English galleon, sent for the purpose, waited to carry her to
England. Remaining in the very heart of a country at war with
ing veil, with only one eye uncovered, ventured anonymously
into public to flirt.26 A document ofJanuary 16, 1638,her own may have seemed too prejudicial to her hopes of
records
that "Diego Velazquez is painting her [the duchess returning
of Che- to France. A safe haven in England would have the
double advantage
vreuse's] portrait with a French air and dress."27 Although a of making her situation less dangerous and
connection between this document and the Wallace Collec- providing easier communication with France. Before leaving
tion portrait has been dismissed in the past, the stir made Spain,
byhowever, she gave a portrait of the English queen, Hen-
Chevreuse's visit to Madrid in 1637-38 has been associated with rietta Maria, to Queen Isabel of Spain, her sister. This may well
the rising fashion there for French dress, particularly low neck- have been a miniature, as it is difficult to imagine how the
lines.28 No other portrait has been persuasively connected with duchess could have made her adventurous escape from France
the painting described in the contemporary record.29 undetected carrying a life-size portrait. She also requested a
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
SIGNS OF IDENTITY IN LADY WITH A FAN BY DIEGO VELAZQUEZ 79
\ i:
i;
'":: i
MARIEDERRON iAN I $E
deMonbafnPalranDveeurGole d
,e: i Ia I 4. Id a l6a.efpouf hae dAber,Ducd ya
etConetiabe deFraun;dtqu elle a eu' Louis Abert aprfttDucdeL t,ete ies
tContdeceeies.Lanniea6'. lle efpoufa enffecondes nopce Claude deLorraeDuc de Cheureufe,de laqelle il a
eu troiftillle donttlafinee ui ftun exemple deiete moururAbbef/e d" pontaux Dame en i65a.a laquelle
di'nite la Cadette ajluccedeefjtant arauant Reliqieufe autdirMnaJere.La Prncee Charlo.te Mane lerf
3 Pierre Daret, Marie de Rohan,
Duchesse de Chevreuse, 1653. Los aualel uiftlornrere Courdecedat
afut lelutftretlomonemdea .esaCour.dca de annee.MadflaDucheffe
la menme la na eteIittr r leiurmere
'. _._ j,eftoufiount
_/ti tentue
3ait lets nterets de Ia Reine, ee danr unefermete'tnefbranlable er bien dyne dejon gratnI coeuraufcruicedl^si
Angeles, Research Library, The Getty etcle IJftatnonoftant Ie lon ues difgraces quelle af[oufferte.qui ontffat efclatterfstVertutpartgutle mond?.
Research Institute lEJfpaqne5,lineterr la flandeet, lAt remnVne Ilt ontreruy da 2zle. Mar alonuturdhiyfon innocence etrtel au on
enrietta
portrait of Queen Isabel to carry to Queen He Maria in temporary record of her eye color has been located.38 The
ly reached
England. Sailing was delayed, but her ship final Ports- Spaniards were amazed at her freedom and fearlessness
with much
mouth late in April 1638, and she was received v notice noting her "elegance, risque neckline and free air [bizarra,
in the
by the English court. She occupied a house i garden of despechugada y desenfadada]," thus calling attention to the
Whitehall, where she was to spend two more y her exile, contrast of her neckline with the conservative style of the
ears of
which continued until both Richelieu and his king were dead. Spanish ladies.39 Another report described her as having
come,
Charles I made every effort to make her welincluding "very attractive presence, a pretty person and free air, with a
among
hanging some of his paintings in her house, them a fair complexion and golden hair [de muy linda presencia y
)laced
Judith and Holofernes by Guido Reni that was Fabove her alindada persona, muy airosay despejada, blancay elpelo rubio]."40
fireplace.35 This may well have struck herapt subject for a She was noted universally for outstanding charm and grace,
as an
woman who spent a great deal of her life ming
scheagainst the and in Spain, for her modest behavior and beautiful man-
usurpation of her people's (that is, the French rightful ners.41 Certainly, the lady in Velazquez's portrait possesses
nobles')
arin,
power by Richelieu and later by Cardinal prime min- some of these attributes: her complexion is fair, her hair is of
Maz
ister during Anne of Austria's regency. a shade that in Spain would be called chestnut (castano), her
Documents, both Spanish and French, vide
proxenthusiastic decolletage is placed at the center point of the composition,
duchess
but fragmentary physical descriptions of the of Che- and her poise suggests that she knows how to behave.
alled
vreuse.36 In Spanish documents, her hair golden red Reliable visual portraits of Marie de Rohan are as elusive as
is c2
(rubia), while the French labeled her hair
wnytan (fauve).37 In the verbal accounts. There exist numerous engravings and a
ras remarked,
Spain, the whiteness of her complexion w a few paintings claiming to represent her, but few can be
characteristic that did not stand out to the ] French; no con- reliably dated, and differences in media and artistic skil
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
80 ART BULLETIN MARCH 2004 VOLUME LXXXVI NUMBER 1
make meaningful comparisons difficult. The engraving pub- Costume: "El Traje y Aire de Frances"
lished by Pierre Daret (1604-1678) in 1653 (Fig. 3) marking Does Lady with a Fan show the "French air and dress" de-
her reinstatement in the French court after many years alter- scribed in the contemporary document? We must examine
nating between dangerous intrigue and exile seems to have with rigor what Velazquez has painted, because costume
some claim to authenticity. However, the distance in years played a central role in the dramatization of gesture and body
from the exact date in 1638 when Velazquez was portraying and it was sometimes used to support an idea that can be
her is too great to make this comparison very useful. The understood only by external reference.42 In comparison with
image with the strongest claim to represent her authentically contemporary Spanish and French images, the details of the
at a date close to the Spanish episode is the 1627 Portrait of the dress and careful analysis of the sitter's gesture or body
Duchess of Chevreuse as Diana attributed to Claude Deruet language show that the figure's "self-presentation" is certainly
(1588-1660) (Fig. 4). Here the duchess, shown ten years French rather than Spanish. It is possible to identify details
younger than when she arrived in Spain, bears a notable that point to specifically French taste in the costume of the
resemblance to the subject of Velazquez's portrait in the Lady with a Fan. Since the beginning of the seventeenth
facial features, particularly the eyes, the mouth, the high century in both Spain and France, the fashionable world had
forehead, and the nose. The similarity of features in the been harangued by royal edicts prohibiting the display of
portraits is encouraging, but in the absence of decisive evi- expensive lace collars, gold or silver cloth, and other forms of
dence about the appearance of the duchess of Chevreuse in luxurious ornament.43 The edicts met with erratic compli-
1637-38, we must turn to other elements in the portrait to ance, a point supported by the need for their reissue year
support the assertion that she is the sitter. after year in the 1630s. However, during this decade French
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
SIGNS OF IDENTITY IN LADY WITH A FAN BY DIEGO VELAZQUEZ 81
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
82 ART BULLETIN MARCH 2004 VOLUME LXXXVI NUMBER 1
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
SIGNS OF IDENTITY IN LADY W17'H A FAN BY DIEGO VELAZQUEZ 83
8 Abraham Bosse, Le bal, ca. 1635. London, The British Museum (photo: (C) The British Museum)
precious jewelry as the preferred adornment. The impor- For example, the black veil and the farthingale, or guardain-
tance of these little accessories can be judged by the ex- fante (the rigid framework of iron hoops to support large, stiff
tremely fashionable stalls of the Galerie du Palais in Paris, skirts), worn by the sitter were typical of but not exclusive to
recorded by Bosse (Fig. 14), displaying gloves and fans, laces Spanish fashion. By the 1630s the farthingale, which was
and ribbons, and ready-made noeuds d'amour. Contemporary certainly still seen throughout the 1620s, had slipped from
literature also paid homage to this legendary site, one of the popularity in France in reaction to the simpler, more natural
most popular places for those of the fashionable world of the line then in favor. The black transparent veil that drops in
court to gather, flirt, and adorn themselves: folds at the sitter's elbow is a very Spanish item, correspond-
ing perfectly to the description given of the manto as a black
Icy faisant semblant d'acheter devant tous veil falling to the hips that could be of different weights. But
Des gants, des evantails, du ruban, des dentelles; such articles were by no means unknown in France. "For a
Les adroits courtisans se donnent rendez-vous, long time ladies have worn a long mourning veil to attend the
Et pour se faire aimer galantisent les belles.60 funeral service (this costume was still in use in Spain some
years ago); it was quickly noticed that this black crepe
(Here they come to display themselves before all /
Making their purchases of gloves, fans, ribbons, and brought out the pallor of complexion and it was transformed
lace; / The skilled courtiers come here to meet, / And into a headdress tied below the chin, which took the name
to make love gallantly to the belles.) 'tenebre."'62 An inventory of the period even described "a
mantle of black Spanish cloth."63 In Lady with a Fan it seems
The arrangement of the hair in Lady with a Fan is also in the to be a manto de humo, a veil made from a very light, trans-
French style, which featured loosely curled tendrils hanging parent material known also as soplillo, illustrated in an early-
softly at the sides of the face.6l In contrast, the hairstyles of seventeenth-century print by Sebastian Vrancx and Peeter de
Spanish ladies of the 1630s and 1640s remained stiff and Jode (Fig. 15).64 In addition, black veils of a shorter length
voluminous, at least in formal portraits. were recorded by Hollar (Fig. 21) and Bosse (Fig. 14), and
However, not everything about the costume of Lady with a even an English lady was depicted with a short black veil and
Fan is as emphatically French as the aspects so far discussed. a fan, in 1683.65 While testing the hypothesis that Velazquez's
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
84 ART BULLETIN MARCH 2004 VOLUME LXXXVI NUMBER 1
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
SIGNS OF IDENTITY IN LADY WITH A IAN BY DIEGO VELAZQUEZ 85
I
/ .
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
86 ART BULLETIN MARCH 2004 VOLUME LXXXVI NUMBER 1
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
SIGNS OF IDENTITY IN LADY WITH A FAN BY DIEGO VELAZQUEZ 87
light gloves against the dark fabric, share prominence with courtiers in orbit around the motionless immutability of the
the face, their gestures meaningful as they display the at- monarch at its center held sway.80 Identification of abstract
tributes of this portrait's iconography. A sense of potential qualities with certain gestural traits became more widespread,
action is conveyed by the delicately poised fingers and the and an understanding of this language can be critical to
scintillating highlights on the fan. The costume of the Chats- penetrating the sometimes obscure codes that were assumed
worth painting appears to be slightly later than 1635-40, the to be common knowledge to artist, sitter, and viewer of
date traditionally assigned to the Wallace Collection painting. seventeenth-century portraits.8l
One possible explanation is that Velazquez painted the Royal marriages notwithstanding, Spanish and French per-
Chatsworth painting at a later date from a study of the head, ceptions of each other in the seventeenth century were prob-
complementing the face with clothing by then contemporary. ably colored by the almost constant state of military and
political rivalry and war between the two nations. A sense of
French Gesture and Spanish Convention national identity had emerged in both countries during the
The subtle yet nonetheless telling contrast in gesture and course of the preceding century. By the 1650s, "Spanish
body language in these portraits can be explored through an gravity" was frequently contrasted with the "gesticulating"
examination of cultural conventions about the eloquence of French and Italians.82 Antipatia de los franceses y espanoles,
gesture and the difference between French and Spanish stan- which appeared in 1617 and went through at least twenty-six
dards of feminine conduct. Since the Renaissance, the lan- editions in the sixteenth century, described the differences in
guage of gesture, with its classical antecedents in the rhetor- Spanish and French gesture. For example,
ical codes of Cicero, attracted the interest of cultured people
throughout Europe, and its codification grew from the widely Ordinarily the French, when they move in the streets, walk
held social view that gesture spoke of degrees of civilization.79 so quickly and actively that they look as though the law
It was understood that consciously or unconsciously men and were after them; and the Spaniards walk so phlegmatically,
women of all classes revealed their character and their rank with calm and repose, that whoever should see them in the
through gesture and comportment, both integral aspects of street will think that they have just recovered from a
self-presentation, together with clothing and spoken lan- serious illness.... 83
guage. Those of high social standing and sufficient leisure
could cultivate their person "as a work of art" in which
Differences in the coded gestures toward women did not
escape
expression and gesture became indexes of gentility and ci- Father Garcia's attention:
vilit. The eloquence and power of "body language" would
have been readily apprehended in the atmosphere of If the
we ask a Spaniard his opinion of the manner and custom
Spanish court, where the Habsburg tradition of rigid that
eti- Frenchmen use to salute the ladies by kissing them on
quette that choreographed the movement of the court the and face, embracing them, and touching them in a free
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
88 ART BULLETIN MARCH 2004 VOLUME LXXXVI NUMBER 1
and relaxed manner, as is practiced in France, he [the 16 Hollar, Mulier nobilis hispanica, 1640s. London, The British
Spaniard] will really lose all patience, and it will be entirely Museum (photo: ? The British Museum)
impossible to persuade him that such ceremonies have
anything about them that is civil or courteous. And in the
Frenchman's judgment, the courtesy, urbanity, and mod-
esty of the Spaniard will seem the most barbarous and The French view of a woman's place (at least those accom-
uncouth thing in the world.84 plished females of the court) in the order of things was also
more open than the role ordained for her by Spanish mor-
No doubt Garcia exaggerated somewhat in the interests of
alists:
good copy, yet the contrast of activity and immobility, expan-
sion and containment is echoed throughout early modern But it is [women's] own virtue which we respect, the which
writing on comparative manners.85 In the seventeenth cen- hath the greater charm to make it selfe to be admired, for
tury, the forms, if not always the essence, of "mannerliness" that it is accompanied with graces, and as it were enlight-
and civility were associated with the French.86 In France, too, ened with the beames of beauty.... To this we must add,
some of the most influential manuals on civility were pro- that without [women] the goodliest Courts in the world
duced, such as Nicolas Faret's L'honnete homme, published in would bee mournfull and languishing, without splendor,
1630, and soon translated into English.87 A similar work, La without joy, and without any kinde of galantnesse; and we
honneste femme by Jacques du Bosque, was translated, as The must confesse, that their presence alone quickens mens
Accomplish 'd Woman, by Walter Montagu, a favored courtier of mindes, and incites the generosity of all those which have
Charles I and an intimate friend of Mme de Chevreuse.88 In
any feelings and apprehensions.90
both works, phrases explaining the importance of gesture-
especially of the hands-abounded, such as "but we may say Views about honor and comportment were far more re-
in some sort of the hands that they speake themselvs. For by laxed in France than contemporary opinion in Spain. In
them in a manner as often as with the tongue, we demand, regard to reputation, du Bosque wrote, "The innocent should
wee promise, we call unto us, we send away, we question, and be no more afflicted when they are called guilty, than if they
we deny."89 were said to be sicke when they are well."91 Elsewhere, he
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
SIGNS OF IDENTITY IN LADY WITH A FAN BY DIEGO VELAZQUEZ 89
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
90 ART BULLETIN MARCH 2004 VOLUME LXXXVI NUMBER 1
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
SIGNS OF IDENTITY IN LADY WITH A FAN BY DIEGO VELAZQUEZ 91
theme,
gesture responds to honor received, and her face betrays theone that was treated on numerous occasions b
worry of a woman in a dangerous situation. TheVelazquez's
serious literary contemporaries such as Francisco Q
vedo and Pedro Calder6n de la Barca. In the enormous
expression of the face in the upper part of the composition
contrasts with the decorative rhythm of the displayedoeuvre of Calder6n, the most obvious references to the pl
hands,
between
fan, veil, and ornaments in the lower half of the painting. Thereality and pictorial illusion appear in his drama
sitter appears distracted, recalling the aspect of pintor
someone de su deshonra (The painter of his dishonor).109 Th
compression
gazing fixedly into space. She looks in the direction of the of meaning expressed in a visual image
viewer, but-perhaps for considerations of decorum-not
doubt held a strong appeal in an intellectual climate
directly into the eyes, as does, for example, Juan devalued
Parejathe
in pithy understatement of conceptismo. To his c
Velazquez's portrait of his assistant and friend. temporaries,
Velazquez Velazquez exemplified the genius necessar
paint
painted a face of preoccupied gravity, of someone with such truth. To convey it, Velazquez passed beyo
great
concerns. The sitter perhaps used the time of posing for rendering to composing with signs of identity w
mimetic
working through a catalogue of options and intrigues.
he pictured the Lady with a Fan. To his sitters, seeing the
selves thus revealed, Velazquez's skill may have been discon
Velazquez's Lady with a Fan reveals an encounter between
a woman of intelligence and experience and an artist whoWe cannot know what the duchess of Chevreuse m
certing.
captured "verdad,.... no semejantes" (truth, not imitation).
have thought of the portrait Velazquez painted of her,
In seventeenth-century Spain the power of paintingperhaps to revealshe, too, like Pope Innocent X, found it to b
a truth otherwise difficult to detect was a characteristic "troppo vero."
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
92 ART BULLETIN MARCH 2004 VOLUME LXXXVI NUMBER 1
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
SIGNS OF IDENTITY IN LADY WITH A FAN BY DIEGO VELAZQUEZ 93
of varnish, as it still is. The Wallace Collection portrait had been cleaned21.six
Pacheco (as in n. 15), 202.
years earlier, revealing the painting at its best. 22. Palomino, vol. 1, 322-23, reveals something of how modestia should be
6. Marcus Burke and Peter Cherry, Documents for the History of Collecting:
understood in creative activity: ".... pero desponjandonos de todo linaje de
Collections of Paintings in Madrid, 1601-1755 (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Trust,
pasi6n, la modestia, siendo facultad de discretos, no nos prescribira leyes de
1997), pt. 1, 837: "114 Un quadro de Una muger Con Velo negro Con punttas tontos: la dificultad esta en deponer el propio amor" (... however, divesting
En la Caveza Con su Valona Vestido de Amarillo Listtado negro original de of every sort of passion, modesty-being a faculty of discretos [those
ourselves
Diego Velazquez de Vara y tterzia de Caida y media Vara y sesma de ancho possessed of wit and ingenuity]-will guide us not into the ways of fools. The
Con marco en mill Rs. 1000." The valuation was made by Claudio Coello and is in doing away with pride).
difficulty
Jose Donoso, two prominent artists at the court of Charles II who should have23. Enriqueta Harris, "The Cleaning of Velazquez's Lady with a Fan," Bur-
been very familiar with Velazquez's hand. Their decided opinion thatlington the Magazine 117 (1975): 316-19.
portrait is an autograph work by Velazquez should not be discarded 24. tooL6pez-Rey, 388.
lightly. 25. Ingamells, 411 and n. 12.
7. Burke and Cherry (as in n. 6), 835-37. 26. Lilian Zirpolo, "MadreJer6nima de la Fuente and Lady with a Fan: Two
8. For an insightful and extensive discussion of the nature of the artist-sitter Portraits by Velazquez Reexamined," Woman's Art Journal 15, no. 1 (1994):
relationship in early modern portraiture, see Harry Berger Jr., Fictions of the 16-21.
Pose: Rembrandt against the Italian Renaissance (Stanford: Stanford University 27. Memorial historico espaiol, 289: "... y Diego Velazquez la esta retratando
Press, 2000). Arguments in this article were influenced particularly by Ber- con el aire y traje de frances," quoted from correspondence between Jesuit
ger's discussion in chap. 2, "Politics: The Apparatus of Commissioning Por- priests in Madrid and Seville.
traits." Equally, some of the ideas presented by Joanna Woodall, "Introduc- 28. Harris (as in n. 23), 19.
tion: Facing the Subject," in Portraiture: Facing the Subject (Manchester: 29. L6pez-Rey, 388.
Manchester University Press, 1997), 1-25, helped to focus the view of Lady 30. Victor Cousin, Madame de Chevreuse et Madame de Hautefort: Nouvelles
with a Fan presented in this article. Finally, Juan Molina Cort6n, "'Troppo 6tudes sur les femmes illustrees et la societe du XVIIe siecle (Paris: Didier, 1856),
vero': Aspectos filos6ficos y morales de la retratistica velazquefia," Cuadernos de 285-89, for a partial transcription of the report to Richelieu by President
Arte e Iconografia 7, no. 13 (1998): 195-217, provided insights into the intel- Vignier, who took down evidence from all the witnesses who had seen the
lectual climate of Velazquez's Spain that were fundamental to the interpre- fugitive en route to Spain (Paris, Bibliothbque Nationale de France, Collec-
tation of Lady with a Fan presented here. tion Du Puy, 499, 500, 501).
9.Jose Antonio Maravall, Velazquez y el espiritu de la modernidad (Madrid: 31. Memorial hist6rico espanol, vi.
Alianza, 1987), 79. 32. Ibid., 288-89.
10. For an assiduous exploration of the theatrical dimension in Baroque 33. See Memorial hist6rico, passim, and Rodriguez Villa (as in n. 1), 211-60,
courtly portraits, see Emilie Gordenker, Anthony Van Dyck and the Representa- passim.
tion of Dress in Seventeenth-Century Portraiture (Turnhout: Brepols, 2001). Al- 34. Memorial hist6rico espafol, xi.
though many of the details of Van Dyck's method of constructing identity are
35. Oliver Millar, "Abraham van der Doort's Catalogue of the Collections of
irrelevant in considering Velazquez, it is true that each artist was able Charles I," Walpole Society 37 (1958-60): 61: "Item In the dutchess of Shivereys
"[t]hrough costume... to present his patrons both as expressions of their
lodging above the Chimney place, dureing the time of her aboad here A
ideals (and sometimes as actors or participants in a fiction), and as actual
Peece being aJudeth Cutting of Holofernus head ... done by Gwedo Bollo-
people" (48). nees."
11. Juan Miguel Serrera, "Alonso Sanchez Coello y la mecanica del retrato
36. Memorial hist6rico espafol, viii: "... es bella en extremo, blanca y rubia, y
de corte," in Alonso Sdnchez Coello y el retrato en la corte de Felipe II, exh. cat.,
Museo del Prado, Madrid, 1990, 38-63.
tiene el semblante majestuoso y dulce a un tiempo" (... she is extremely
beautiful, pale and blonde, and the expression of her face is at once majestic
12. Ibid., 43-44. See also David Davies, "The Anatomy of Spanish Habsburg
and sweet); Rodriguez Villa (as in n. 1), 233: "ella era muy bizarra, despechu-
Portraits," in The Ram6n Perez de Ayala Lecture 1992 (London: Department of
gada y desenfadada, mirando a los que caminaban delante y a los lados" (she
History of Art, University College, London, 1998).
was elegant, with a risque neckline and a free air, and looking at those walking
13. Palomino, vol. 3, 214.
before her and at her sides). French descriptions are summarized in the
14. DonJuan Velez de Guevara, "Soneto," trans. Enriqueta Harris, Velazquez
words of the most recent biographer of the duchess of Chevreuse in Georges
(Oxford: Phaidon Press, 1982), 200. For the Spanish text in context, see
Poisson, La duchesse de Chevreuse (Paris: Perrin, 1999), 12: "Les contemporains
Palomino, vol. 3, 214: "Pincel, que a lo atrevido, y a lo fuerte / les robas la
ont porte sur Marie de Rohan desjugements bien divers, mais s'accordent sur
verdad, tan bien fingida, / que la ferocidad en ti es temida, / y el agrado
un point: elle etait ravissante, et le demeura longtemps. Elle etait petite
parece que divierte. // Di: ?Retratas, o animas? Pues de suerte / esa copia real
estf excedida, / que juzgara que el lienzo tiene vida, / como cupiera en lo ... mais remarquablement faite. Un visage lisse, d'un ovale accentue, un peu
lunaire, aux sourcils epiles et auquel seuls l'animation et sans doute le plaisir
insensible muerte. // Tanto el regio dominio, que ha heredado / el retrato
amoureux donnaient de l'eclat. Une chevelure fauve, tirant sur le roux...."
publica esclarecido, / que aun el mandar la vista le ha eschuchado. // Y ya
que en el poder es parecido, / lo mas dificultoso has imitado, que es mas facil
(Marie de Rohan's contemporaries held quite diverse opinions about her, but
el ser obedecido." were agreed on one point: she was ravishing, and her beauty lasted into later
15. Francisco Pacheco, El arte de la pintura (1649), ed. Bonaventuralife. She was petite... but remarkably well made. Her smooth oval face,
Basse-
goda i Hugas (Madrid: Ediciones Catedra, 1990), 524-26. somewhat moonlike, with plucked brows, lit up only with animation and,
16. Ibid., 525. undoubtedly, amorous pleasure. Fawn-colored hair, tending toward red....).
17. For a brief, informative essay on this aspect of artistic thought in Spain, 37. The interpretation of these adjectives should take into account the
see Molina Cort6n (as in n. 8). subjective relativity of cultural perceptions: light chestnut hair could quite
18. Pacheco (as in n. 15), 525-26. easily be grouped with light or blond in a population where the predominant
19. The cleric and humanist Lorenzo van der Hamen y Le6n, in the coloring was very dark brown or black hair and brown or black eyes. The same
introduction to his devotional work Limosna, excelencias calidades, prerrogativas light chestnut hair might be classed as brown or dark in a population where
yfrutos suyos (Granada: Baltasar de Bolibar, Imprenta Real, 1658), recognized the norm was light blond hair, fair skin, and blue eyes.
the difficulty in endowing a painted image with abstract qualities when he 38. Cousin (as in n. 30), 7, describes the duchess of Chevreuse as blue-eyed,
wrote, "No son, como piensan algunos (error vulgar) los retratos, aunque de but he admits that this observation is based on a copy of a portrait, not an
mano de Zeuxis, Apeles, Tintoreto el Ticiano, o de otro pinzel valiente los original.
verdaderos. La Fama, el Nombre, la Opini6n son los originales, los retratos 39. Rodriguez Villa (as in n. 1), 233.
parecidos ... y es la razon, porque aquellos no manifiestan mas que los 40. Memorial hist6rico espaiol, 266.
perfiles, facciones, y colorido del semblante.... Estotros representan al vivo 41. Ibid., 273: "ha sido generalmente muy bien recibida de toda la Corte, y
lo interior del hombre, sus afectos y pasiones, sus virtudes o vicios...." es persona que se lo merece por su buen porte y la afabilidad con que a todos
(Portraits do not, as some may think [a common error] capture true likeness, trata" (she has been generally well received by all the court, as she deserves for
though they be by the hand of Xeuxis, Apelles, Tintoretto or Titian, or some her manner and affability with all whom she meets); 290: ". .. aqui se ha
other valient brush. Reputation, name, and opinion comprise the original, gobernado con mucha cordura. ..." (.. here she has behaved with great
and portraits capture appearances, because they [portraits] show only the prudence); 349: "... tiene entendimiento y agrado" (... she has intelligent
contours, features, and coloring of the face, while these other [qualities] understanding and is pleasant).
reveal the inner life of the man, his affections and passions, his virtues and 42. Daniel Roche, The Culture of Clothing: Dress and Fashion in the "Ancien
vices....). Regime" (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 9. In Gordenker (as
20. Francisco de Quevedo, trans. Gridley McKim-Smith, Examining Veldzquez in n. 10), the study of costume in portraits by Anthony Van Dyck has been the
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988), 17. For the original Spanish, see key to interpreting the codes of meaning in the costume, posture, gesture,
Francisco de Quevedo, Obra completa, ed.Jose Manuel Blecua, 4 vols. (Madrid: and even facial expression of his sitters.
Castalia, 1969-81), vol. 2, 403-4: "Silva al pincel-Y por ti el gran Velazquez 43. Roche (as in n. 42), 49-52.
ha podido / Diestro, cuanto ingenioso, / Ansi animar lo hermoso, / Ansi dar 44. M. de Grenaille, La mode, ou charactre de la religion, de la vie, de la
a lo m6rbido sentido / Con las manchas distantes; / Que son verdad en 1e, no conversation, de la solitude, des compliments, des habits et du style du temps (Paris,
semejantes." 1642), 130-31.
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
94 ART BULLETIN MARCH 2004 \VOI,UME LXXXVI NUMBER 1
45. Louise Godard de Donville, Signification de la mode sous Louis XIII (Aix- places by Velazquez's assistant and son-in-law, Juan Martinez del Mazo, such
en-Provence: Universite de Provence, 1976), 50, 232. as The Street of the Queen in Aranjuez, in the Prado.
46. Roche (as in n. 42), 47. 72. Carlos Garcia, Antipatia de los franceses y espanoles (Rouen, 1627), 261:
47. Beaulieu, 85-87. "Un Frances siendo favorecido de su Dama, no estudia en otra cosa que en
48. Some exceptions may be cited in paintings by Valencian artists, who, mostrar a sus amigos, y a todo el mundo su privanca y favor Cosa que
perhaps because of their relative proximity to Italy, were readier to depict estremamente aborrece el Espanol, pues quando esto le sucede pone toda su
female nudity, as can be seen in Clio, Allegory of History byJose Ribera (the diligencia y cuydado en cubrir del mundo, de sus amigos, y de si mismo (si
Hermitage, St. Petersburg) or in The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine by Pedro puede) este contento. Y finalmente se hallan en este particular dos movimien-
Orrente (Museo de Bellas Artes, Bilbao). tos contrarios entre ellos, porque el Frances procura sacar fuera lo que esta
49. Beaulieu, 113-17. The inventories cited by Beaulieu reflect a prepon- dentro escondido: y el Espanol al contrario, no procura otro que esconder lo
derance of somber-colored clothing: many black materials, including serge, que esta fuera."
taffeta, and linen; blue or green velvets; and, most interestingly, "Holland 73. Bernis (as in n. 70), 201.
cloth of a nice chestnut color [drap de Hollande coulleur de noizette chamarre]," 74. Although L6pez-Rey, 388, catalogues this work as autograph, recent
words that might be used to describe the fabric worn by the sitter in Lady with scholarly opinion appears less favorable: "Although listed in the Carpio
a Fan. collection, Madrid, 1677, as an original by Velazquez, the face mask is a very
50.Jose Deleito y Pifuelo, La mujer, la casa y la moda, 3rd ed. (Madrid: careful copy from [Lady with a Fan], and elsewhere the execution is inferior,
Espasa Calpe, 1966), 177: "Ninguna dejaba de llevar un panuelo bordado de as was apparent when the two paintings were placed side by side in 1981"
batista finisima y de tamano grande." (Ingamells, 412). In such a comparison, however, the Chatsworth painting
51. Helene Alexander, Fans, Shire Album, vol. 243 (Princes Risborough, would be at a disadvantage because of the heavy and discolored varnish that
Eng.: Shire, 1989), 10. still obscures much detail. A more informative comparison between the
52. Bomli, 137. paintings could be made if they were equally visible. Revelations might also
53. Comtesse d'Aulnoy, "Relation du voyage d'Espagne (1679)," Revue His- arise from a comparison of X-radiographs of the two images. In the mean-
panique 67 (1926), quoted in Bomli, 138. time, it seems only fair to maintain an open mind about the authorship of the
54. One example is in the pendant portraits Philip II and Ana of Austria by Chatsworth painting.
Sofonisba Anguissola, ca. 1575, Prado. 75. L6pez-Rey, 388.
76. Ibid.
55. In a print after the Lady with a Fan made while it was in the Lucien
Bonaparte collection, the engraver drew a slender crucifix below the ribbon. 77. Ibid. Lopez-Rey translates the dimensions in the Carpio inventory as 44
This was painted out subsequently and revealed again only in the 1975 by 38 in. (112 by 97 cm). The painting now measures 38 2 by 191/ in. (98 by
49 cm).
cleaning. For more recent interpretations, see Ingamells, 414 n. 1.
56. Maurice Leloir, Dictionnaire du costume et de ses accessoires (Paris: E. Henry, 78. Mary Elizabeth Perry and Anne J. Cruz, Culture and Control in Counter-
1951), 279. Reformation Spain (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1992). See esp.
57. An example of the later Spanish mode of attaching medals and amulets chap. 6, "Magdalens and Jezebels in Counter-Reformation Spain," 124-44,
to the waist can be seen in Velazquez's late portrait The Infanta Maria Teresaand chap. 7, "La Bella Malmaridada: Lessons for the Good Wife," 145-71. See
(1652-53, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). This may be a devout inter-also Mary Elizabeth Perry, Gender and Disorder in Early Modern Seville (Prince-
pretation of the French fashion of the 1630s. ton: Princeton University Press, 1990), passim.
58. Beaulieu, 104-5: "L'an 1635 Richelieu fonde l'Academie; aussit6t on 79. Gesture was also intellectually fashionable as a model universal lan-
lance un nouveau soulier avec des rubans lies en 'noeud d'amour' qui guage, a theory supported by the Europeans' contact with indigenous peoples
with whom communication was often best achieved through signs. See James
prendront le nom de la nouvelle institution. Ici la mode se haussejusqu'a se
R. Knowlson, "The Idea of Gesture as a Universal Language in the XVIIth and
faire le reflet d'un evenement d'ordre intellectuel" (In the year 1635 Rich-
XVIIIth Centuries," Journal of the History of Ideas 26 (1965): 495-598.
elieu founded the Academy; immediately, a new boot became fashionable,
with ribbons attached that were tied in a love knot that took the name of the
80. Adolfo Carrasco Martinez, "Fisonomia de la virtud: Gestos, movimientos
new institution. Here fashion has elevated itself to reflect an intellectual y palabras en la cultura cortesano-artistocratica del siglo XVII," Reales Sitios 38,
no. 147 (2001): 26-37.
event).
81. See Gordenker (as in n. 10), passim.
59. Camille Piton, Le costume civil en France (Paris: Ernest Flammarion,
1913), 196.
82. Herman Roodenburg, "The Hand of Friendship," in A Cultural History
of Gesture, ed. Roodenburg andJan Bremmer (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University
60. "Galerie du Palais Royal," 1637, quoted in Andre Blum, Abraham Bosse
Press, 1991), 160-61.
et la societefranfaise au dix-septieme siecle (Paris: Albert Morance, 1924), 90. A
83. Garcia (as in n. 72), 287.
similar image is evoked by the lines of Bertrand in the 1660 poem "Galerie du
84. Ibid., 205-6: "Si preguntamos a un espanol que le parece del modo y
Palais": "J'ai de beaux masques, de beaux glands / De beaux mouchoirs, de
costumbre que los franceses tienen en saludar las damas besandoles en el
beaux galans; / Venez ici, Mademoiselle, /J'ai de bellissime dentelle, / Des
rostro, allegandose a ellas y tocandoles con desenvoltura y libertad que se
points coupes qui sont fort beaux, / De beaux etuis, de beaux ciseaux, / De
practica en Francia, verdaderamente perdera los estribos de la paciencia y
la neige des plus nouvelles; /J'ai des cravates les plus belles, / Un manchon,
sera del todo imposible podelle persuadir que la tal ceremonia tenga algo de
un bel evantail / Des pendans d'oreilles d'email / Une coiffe de crapau- civil y cortes. Y al juicio de un frances, la cortesia, urbanidad y recato de los
daille...." (I have some pretty masks, and tassels, some lovely handkerchiefs,
espanoles parecera la cosa mas barbara y grosera del mundo."
and lovely bows; Come here young lady, I have most beautiful lace, trimmed 85. Ibid.
cuffs that are so pretty, pretty cases and pretty scissors, the newest laces, the 86. Roodenburg (as in n. 82), 157.
loveliest ties, a muff, a pretty fan, some enameled earrings, a headdress of 87. Nicolas Faret, The Honest Man: or, The Art to Please in Court, trans. E.
black crepe .... ); quoted in Piton (as in n. 59), 200. Grimestone (London, 1632).
61. Beaulieu, 84-86: "Une partie de la chevelure est relevee sur le sommet 88.Jacques du Bosque, La honnestefemme, 2nd ed. (Paris, 1636), translated
de la tite, l'autre est convertie en longues boucles ou 'serpentaux' encadrant as The Accomplish'd Woman: Written originally in French and since made English by
le visage" (One part of the hair is taken up toward the crown, the other is the Honourable Walter Montagu esq. (London, 1656).
made into long curls or "serpents" that frame the face). 89. Faret (as in n. 87), 362-63.
62. Ibid., 105: "Longtemps les femmes se couvrirent d'un long voile de 90. Ibid., 370-76.
deuil pou- se rendre a l'offic des Tenebres (c'est une coutume qui etait 91. Du Bosque, 1656 (as in n. 88), 28.
encore en usage en Espagne il y a quelques annees); on s'apercut bientot que 92. Ibid., 113.
ce crepe noir faisait ressortir la blancheur du teint et on transforma le voile 93. Perry (as in n. 78), 68.
en une coiffe nouee sous le menton qui prit le nom de 'tenebre."' 94. Friar Vicente Mexia, Saludable instruccion del estado del matrimonio (Cor-
63. Ibid., 114: "Unq manteau de drap d'Espaigne noir...." doba, 1566), 135, 213.
64. See Bomli, 140, and the thorough discussion in Carmen Bernis, El traje 95. Manuela Mena Marques, "La imagen de la mujer en la pintura espanola
y los lipos sociales en1 El Quijote (Madrid: Ediciones el Viso, 2001), 246-56. en comparacion con la pintura italiana," in Actas de las terceras jornadas de
65. See Anglois, from Allain Manesson-Mallet, Description de l'universe (Paris: investigacion interdisciplinaria: La imagen de la mujer en el arte espanol (Madrid:
Denys Thierry, 1683), in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Seminario de Estudios de la Mujer, Universidad Aut6noma de Madrid, 1984),
66. Mlemorial historico espanol, 266. 87-111, at 87.
67. The royal decree, Pregon en que su Magestad manda que ninguna muger de 96. Perry (as in n. 78), 58. Perry cites the example that illegitimate births
qualquier estado, y calidad que sea, pueda traer, ni traiga guardainfante ..., was accounted for 25 percent of births recorded in Seville at the end of the 16th
issued in Seville, April 1639. century, and in 1650 the number had dropped to 10 percent.
68. Deleito y Pinluela (as in n. 50), 157; see also MariaJose y Pedro Voltes, 97. Ibid., 53-54.
Las LLmujeres en lac histOnia de EIspaia (Barcelona: Planeta, 1986), 78. 98. Palomino, vol. 2, 264-65. Palomino discusses the moral danger of
69. Iariris, 1975 (as in n. 23), 19. portraits being used to excite sensual delight and cautions both the commis-
7(). Carmen Bei-iiis, "El 'vestido Franc-l s' en la Espana de Felipe IV," Archivo sioner of such a work and the painter who makes it against falling into
Espcanol de Arte 55 (1982): 201-8. insidious sin.
71. Bomnli, 128. The rarity of the guardainjfate in everyday life is fut-ther 99. Copia de los pare(eres, y censuras de los reverendisimos padres maestros, y senores
suggested by thie feminine costtume recorded in views of public events or catedraticos de las insignes ulniversidades de Salamanca y Alcala, y de otras personas
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
SIGNS OF IDENTITY IN LADI WITH A FAN BY DIEGO VELAZQUEZ 95
doctas. Sobre el abuso de lafiguras, y pinturas lascivas, y deshonestas. ... (Madrid, Imperio" (The arrival of the Chevreuse was maliciously planned by the
1632), in Francisco Calvo Serraller, ed., Teoria de la pintura del siglo de oro Cardinal, because she gave assurance ... of agreement with England, and the
(Madrid: Catedra, 1981), 235-58. marriage of our prince with the daughter [of England, that is, of Charles I],
100. Palomino, "La practica de la pintura," vol. 2, 385: 'Y si fuere el and before long it would be seen how boldly she deceived us.... This is how
sitio . ., habitaci6n de sefioras, debe huirse totalmente de las fabulas, bus- the English keep peace, and in this way Richelieu deceives us through the
cando siempre asuntos nobles, decorosos, honestos, y ejemplares." offices of a woman, for while she was here offering friendship with the
101. This engraving is based on a painting once in the collection of Charles English, they had sent the army on campaign to help his [Charles I's] nephew
I and sold at Christie's, London, Oct. 28, 1966, lot 45. The painting was against the empire).
inscribed "Maria de Rohan" and signed and dated 1628. Although Sir Oliver 104.J. H. Elliott, "The Year of the Three Ambassadors," in History and
Millar expressed the view that the painting does not represent Maria de Imagination, ed. Hugh Lloyd-Jones et al. (London: Duckworth, 1981).
Rohan (see the note in Christie's sale catalogue), the woman portrayed bears 105. L6pez-Rey, 388.
some resemblance to the face in the Versailles portrait (Fig. 4). 106. Ibid.
102. Roche (as in n. 42), 51. 107. Ibid.
103. Memorial historico espaiol, 414-15: "la venida de la Gebrose [Chevreuse] 108. The portrait painted by Velazquez of the duke of Modena in 1638
ha sido maliciosa y trazada por el Cardenal, porque ella asegur6... el aco- accompanied the sitter when he returned to Italy, and there is even evidence
modamiento con Inglaterra, con el casamiento de nuestro principe con su that he paid Velazquez for it. So a foreigner leaving Spain with a portrait by
hija, y adelante se vera como nos engafi6 afrentosamente.... De esta manera Velazquez was not without precedent.
guarda la paz el ingles, y de esta manera nos engana Richelieu por medio de 109. Pedro Calder6n de la Barca, El pintor de su deshonra, ed. Manuel Ruis
una muger; pues cuando ella estaba ofreciendo aqui la amistad del ingles, Lagos, Colecci6n Aula Magna, no. 19 (Madrid: Alcala, 1969). For Quevedo,
habia 1l echado en campafia su ejercito para ayudar a su sobrino contra el see n. 20 above.
This content downloaded from 143.107.95.114 on Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:09:34 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms