La Dame de Coeurs, 1861-63. Yes! A number of photographs depict her in poses that were risqu for the era notably, images that expose her bare legs and feet. Pinterest. She allegedly had an illicit love affair with a naval officer, right before the day of her marriage to the Count, tagging herself with an anarchist title. . Find Countess Of Castiglione stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. Virginia Oldoni Rapallini, Countess of Castiglione (22 March 1837 28 November 1899), better known as La Castiglione, was an Italian aristocrat who achieved notoriety as a mistress of Emperor Napoleon III of France. [11], The Countess of Castiglione in a photo by, Virginia Elisabetta Luisa Carlotta Antonietta Teresa Maria Oldoni Rapallini, Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione. Her cousin, Camilo Benso, was a minister in the court of Victor Emmanuel II, the King of Sardinia. Very sad. Virginia Oldoini was born into a noble family in 1837, in Florence,Tuscany. When Oldoini broke up with Napoleon III, she didnt stop entertaining, and she continued to have hot and heavy affairs with a series of important suitors throughout her life. Oldoini showed an eerie attachment to her only son Giorgio, but it didnt stop at doting. After teaming up with photographer Pierre-Louis Pierson, Oldoini amassed over 700 19th-century selfies. Visual content is copyrighted to its respective owners, and inclusion here is under fair use for criticism, comment, and news reporting purposes. The count was 12 years older than the girl, and not much of a looker. While she was lauded as Venus descended from Olympus, she was exceptionally self-absorbed. Scherzo di Follia by Pierre-Louis Pierson, Vintage European Art Print, Countess of Castiglione Photo, PRINTABLE Wall Art, Digital Download. Shop for the best countess castiglione from our collection of exclusive, customized & handmade products. Later, I came across her fancy dress photos via their exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was hooked and years later, I played her at the San Francisco Dickens Fair. She was, in a word, disgustingly vain. The Countess of Castiglione is sometimes called "The Queen of Surrealism." Her playful photoshoots anticipated the Surrealist aesthetic that would dominate the art scene after she passed In one meta photo, she peers at the viewer through a cameradrawing attention to to the ways she's both looking at you while you're looking at her. Shapes, color and value, eye-catching visual impact on art. Artifice? Victoria And Albert Museum. However, she left a legacy behind for 19th-century women to break conventional chains. When Francesco tried to claim custody of her only beloved son Giorgio, the Countess of Castiglione didnt take it lying down. Read our Cookie Policy. Four years later, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed, conceivably in part due to the influence that the Countess had exerted on Napoleon III. Hand-tinted photographs were regarded as both a luxury and a novelty. At the peak of her Narcissism, she voluntarily modelled and took controversial pictures of herself. This sartorial talent even once allowed her to make a legendary statement. Countess of Castiglione (1837 - 1899), was a beautiful 19th-century Italian aristocrat. The Countess of Castiglione in collaboration with Pierre-Louis Pierson. She lost her charm and beauty and took ghastly and unnatural pictures of herself, posing in a coffin with her dead dog. See more ideas about countess, vintage photos, vintage photography. Nah, you dont wanna do that. The Oldoini cousins couldnt have picked a better mark than Napoleon III. By 1860, their affair had soured, and the countess had completely lost favor at court. The swing pic may refer to this painting by Fragonard? There is a French documentary currently on Amazon Prime, The Courtesans, that focuses on the rivalries of Virginia Oldoini, La Paiva Esther Lachmann, La Belle Agustina del Carmen Otero Iglesias, and Liane de Pougy. Listen, girls know how to get things done. "La contessa di Castiglione in una prosa di D'Annunzio" (Rome, 1973), Mario Vecchioni, ed. The Countess of Castiglione, Virginia Oldoni, or as she is better known, La Castiglione was an aristocrat born in Florence (Italy). Like many other significant society figures, she made her way to the Mayer-Pierson photographic studio on Boulevard de Capucine, which was helmed by imperial court photographer and daguerreotypist Pierre-Louis Pierson. Her birth name- Virginia Elisabetta Luisa Carlotta Antonietta Teresa Maria Oldoni, was as long as the legacy she left behind. Uh, not by any stretch of the imagination. But in the end, she would only be his mistress for less than a year, limiting her ability to manipulate him. The countess may have had a mystical hold over menbut her allure had one major flaw. Duranti is FAR TOO OLD to pull it off. Kendra is a librarian at a university, specializing in history and fashion. One day, Napoleon was hosting yet another lavish ball, and the countess took the opportunity to flex her power. The Countess of Castiglione made her mark in very difficult times. These actions protected her from watching her own beauty decay, and allowed her admirers to only remember the beauty she was in her youth. Kendra has been a fixture in the online costuming world since the late 1990s. (689) $5.95. Once she even used this photographic art to communicate with others. Plus, you know, there was the whole other woman thing. In the 1890s she began a brief collaboration with Pierson again, though her later photographs clearly show her loss of any critical judgement, possibly due to her growing mental instability. Moreover, these rudimentary special effects could smooth, enhance, and flatter their subjects, transforming and elevating them. Obsessed with her own image, the Countess de Castiglione was more than a mere narcissist. 11 - 15 May 2022. Granted Castiglione was obsessed by her own beauty but so was everybody around her. Italian Virgiana Oldoini , countess of Castiglione , she was the spy of french emperor NapoleonIII, holding an oval picture frame up to her eye,. Feb 22, 2015 - Explore Roderick Johnson's board "Countess of Castiglione", followed by 175 people on Pinterest. This type of data sharing may be considered a sale of information under California privacy laws. Believe it or not, the countess never had a large-scale public exhibition of her photos. 7 The First Model. Four months of attention-grabbing stunts were required for her to become Napoleons mistress. With Yvonne De Carlo, Georges Marchal, Paul Meurisse, Rossano Brazzi. Not even she was entitled to look at the waning beauty of the Countess of Castiglione. The dress, while dotted with hearts, was almost entirely see-through, and the good old countess wasnt wearing a corset. Of all the relationships the Countess formed in Paris, the most significantand by far most enduringwas her relationship with the camera. Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIIIs rejected queenbut few people know her even darker history. Most of the photographs depict the Countess in theatrical outfits, such as the Queen of Hearts dress. Some 90 works from a remarkable series of photographic portraits documenting the public life and private fantasies of a legendary 19th-century beauty go on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 19, 2000, in the exhibition "La Divine Comtesse," Photographs of the Countess de Castiglione. ; Tommaso Antongini, "Nathalie Lger: Exposition review mysteries, rumours and facts", Metropolitan Museum of Art: "La Divine Comtesse", Short article in Artnet about the Countess de Castiglione, Review of "La Divine Comtesse": Photographs of the Countess de Castiglione, Five Countess de Castiglione photos can be found here, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Virginia_Oldoini,_Countess_of_Castiglione&oldid=1132953745, Photographic artist and supposed secret agent, Giorgio Verasis di Castiglione (18551879), Abigail Solomon-Godeau, "The Legs of the Countess," in, This page was last edited on 11 January 2023, at 13:44. [8], The Countess's life was depicted in a 1942 Italian film, The Countess of Castiglione,[9] and a 1954 Italian-French film, The Contessa's Secret, that starred Yvonne De Carlo.[10]. The countesss totally unbiased response? See, Camillo was in the middle of trying to convince the French Emperor Napoleon III to help unify Italy, and he knew his cousin Virginia had a, uh, hypnotizing power over men. Captcha failed to load. By the 1890s, she had become round, bald, and . Growing up, it was clear to everyone who knew the girl that the young Oldoini was going to be a mega babe. Her dress is hugevoluminous skirts trimmed with thick bands of lace. The film portrays the life of the nineteenth-century Italian aristocrat Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione, best known as the lover of Napoleon III of France. On one occasion, she boldly appeared at a ball on the emperor's arm, dressed as the Queen of Heartsprompting the empress to angrily quip, "The heart is a bit low, Madame.". Robert de Montesquiou, a French poet, was once such Romeo so obsessed with his Juliet, that he collected 400 of her photographs. Oldoini never did reconcile with her husbandand though this would get her into trouble later, she didnt much mind for the time being. The sexual allusion is well known and discussed among art historians and scholars of libertine culture of the 18th_C, I had an art history professor describe The Swing as an up-skirt par excellence!. I dont think narcissist is the right word. Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. The French court photographer Pierre-Louis Pierson took more than 400 portraits of the Countess Castiglione, considered the most beautiful woman of her time,during a 40-year collaboration. Virginia Oldoini, Countess di Castiglione ( 22 March 1837 - 28 November 1899 ), better known as La Castiglione, was an Italian courtesan and secret agent who achieved notoriety as a mistress of Emperor Napoleon III of France. On one famous evening, Napoleon III was leaving as she was making her grand entrance, You are too late, he said. Browse 343 countess of castiglione stock photos and images available or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. She lived in an apartment in the Place Vendme where she painted the rooms entirely in black and banned mirrors. He later scrawled furiously: Our separation is irrevocable. Set where you live, what language you speak, and the currency you use. She spent a large part of her personal fortune and even went into debt to execute this project. Virginia was given into marriage at the age of 17, to Francesco Verasis, the Count of Castiglione in 1854, hence becoming the Countess at the prime of her life. Keep in mind that anyone can view public collectionsthey may also appear in recommendations and other places. Being a fashion showstopper, she was an icon and the talk of the town. Her adult life began when her beauty and noble blood allowed her to become the Countess da Castiglione through marriage to Francesco Verasis. He left for Italy, leaving his Countess engaging in her newly found hobby in France. But whether the relationship was for business or pleasure, it nonetheless helped the Countess establish an immediate reputation. P. Petra von Straks. Robert de Montesquiou, a Symbolist poet, dandy, and avid art collector, was fascinated by the Countess di Castiglione. In 1871, things werent looking good for the Countess of Castiglione. The countess was an early pioneer in photo alteration, and in fact she colorized many of her photos using different . We know that the studio was luxurious; engravings show its salons, antechambers, vast porticos, enormous bay windows bathing the galleries with light. Aside from taking up with Napoleon III in full view of her husband Francesco, the countess also literally bankrupted the man with her expensive tastes. The countess infamously snapped pictures that exposed her bare feet and legs. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Hasards_heureux_de_l%27escarpolette#/media/Fichier:Fragonard,_The_Swing.jpg. Ive had a thing for the real-life Virginia Oldoini, The Countess of Castiglione (1837-1899) for a loooong time now. Keep the snark flowing by supporting us with a small one-time donation on Ko-fi. On March 22, 1837, the Countess was born into her very own gilded, velvet world. La Sultane - La Comtesse de Castiglione, 1865. Library. In 1857, when her relationship with Napoleon III ended, La Castiglione moved back to Italy. But it turns out that Oldoini really shone when her back was up against the wall. Data sharing may be considered a sale of information under California privacy laws really shone when her and! Ii, the Countess establish an immediate reputation never did reconcile with her dead dog you! 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