Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The first book to focus on one of the most recognisable Renaissance portraits, this publication repositions Quinten Massys's 'The Ugly Duchess' within its original context, epitomising as it does the Renaissance's taste for satire and fascination with the 'grotesque'.
The Ugly Duchess celebrates Massys's leading contribution to the rise of secular and satirical painting and explores the possibility that he drew inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci's drawings. Examining the portrait alongside that of her male companion reveals the period's complex attitudes towards women, age and power. The Duchess's exaggerated facial features and inappropriate clothing may suggest that Massys is inviting us to laugh at the woman's self-delusion, but a closer reading reveals both an individual defiantly flouting convention and a painter subverting artistic expectations. John Tenniel later used the portrait as inspiration for his 1865 depiction of the Duchess in Alice'sAdventures in Wonderland, capturing the British imagination for generations.
Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press
Synopsis
Quinten Massys'
An Old Woman ('The Ugly Duchess') is one of the Renaissance's most famous faces. In a fresh review of the iconic image, this book unveils the painting's original context: its status as a pioneering work of satirical art, its debt to Leonardo da Vinci's grotesque drawings, and what it tells us about the period's complex attitudes towards women, age and normative beauty.
The painting and its partner, An Old Man, are parodic portraits that mock the supposed lust and vanity of older women. Yet a closer look also reveals a figure defiantly flouting conventions and a painter subverting artistic expectations.
The publication traces the eventful afterlife and enduring power of this seminal image: how she gained her nickname 'The Ugly Duchess' and inspired John Tenniel's much-loved illustrations of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), capturing the imagination of generations of readers.
Published by National Gallery Global/Distributed by Yale University Press
Exhibition Schedule:
National Gallery, London, 16 March-11 June 2023