Video: Who were the 10 main charms of England from the portraits of the 17th century: "The Beauties of Windsor"
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Anna Hyde, Duchess of York, one of the outstanding women of the 17th century, once made an original gift to her husband (the king's brother) - she ordered a series of portraits to the most fashionable artist in England. Modern ladies could understand this gesture if Anna herself was depicted in the paintings, but the paintings captured other charming women, recognized beauties, who shone at court in those years. The situation looks even more piquant because some of the models were reputed to be the mistresses of King Charles II, others were the passions of Anna's husband, and some combined these "honorary titles". There were also respectable wives among them, but perhaps history simply did not convey everything to us.
The story of the customer of the Windsor Collection is also very remarkable. Anna's father, Edward Hyde, was an amazing person who managed to reach the top only thanks to his extraordinary mind and loyalty. During the difficult events for the royal family of the English Revolution and the execution of Charles I, he went into exile with the children of the executed monarch. Hyde became the guardian of the future Charles II and his closest advisor.
When Karl's younger brother Jacob seduced Edward Hyde's daughter, he was the first to oppose this marriage. His Anna really was "clever and beautiful", but as the wife of the second contender for the throne, she had one terrible drawback - an insufficiently noble origin. In fact, both the closest friend of the future king of England and his daughter were commoners, and the statesman could not reconcile himself to this idea, regardless of its own benefits. Perhaps the father understood that the king's entourage would not forgive Anna for such a dizzying take-off, and in fact it happened - until the end of her days she was forced to endure the contemptuous attitude of the indigenous aristocracy.
However, despite all the disadvantages of such a marriage, it took place when it turned out that the girl was expecting a child. The official ceremony was held privately on 3 September 1660 in London shortly after the restoration of the monarchy. Charles II ascended the throne, and Anna received the title of Duchess of York. The woman did not live up to the moment when her husband was crowned under the name of James II, but she became the mother of two future queens of England - Mary and Anna. The French ambassador described Anna as having "courage, intelligence and energy almost worthy of royal blood."
Marital life in the family of the Dukes of York was extremely turbulent. On the one hand, Yakov constantly cheated on his wife, became the father of numerous bastards and endured violent scenes of jealousy. On the other hand, the spouses even displeased the court by publicly demonstrating their tender feelings. So Anna Hyde's life was an eternal battle. It is known that a jealous duchess put one of her rivals, Lady Chesterfield, into eternal village exile, launching a whole "military campaign" for this.
Anna Hyde commissioned a series of portraits of the court beauties in 1662. At the same time, she turned to the best portrait painter in England of that time, Dutch by birth, Peter Lely. I must say that the duchess was considered, according to contemporaries, "not only the most proud woman in the world, but also the most expensive one."Today it is not known exactly how many portraits were created, ten have survived to this day. Portraits hung in the rooms of her husband, Jacob, Duke of York. Many of those depicted were the mistresses of his brother, King Charles II. At least one of them, Jane Middleton, had a romantic relationship with Jacob himself. Anna Hyde's exact motives are unknown today. The woman probably didn't just spend a fortune to put her real (or potential) rivals in front of her husband's eyes.
All the ladies in the portraits are ¾ in height, dressed in smart clothes or depict ancient goddesses. The collection can now be seen at Hampton Court Palace. Modern viewers have diametrically opposed opinions about the "main beauties" of the 17th century. It is possible that the standards of beauty have changed over 350 years, but feminine beauty at all times remains the main value and inspiration for artists.
A couple of centuries later, another artist, who was called Franz the Magnificent, captured the noble beauties of his time: Why ladies lined up to the most popular portrait painter of the 19th century
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