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Jordan, a reader of this blog, noted about the portraits of Madame de Montespan (see my blog below):"The only three Montespan portraits, in my own opinion, that do justice to her famously "haughty" appearance can be seen by following links. As Sandra mentioned in her original post, it's interesting to note how well-fed Athenais seems in some of them."Here are the images:
This first one is by an unknown artist. Her eyes, as mentioned before, are unusual, slightly protruding—and yes, as Jordan points out, there is something haughty about her.
The second one, a miniature by Jean Petitot, is clearly the image of a "robust" voluptuous woman with a slightly aloof expression. (The site suggests that it might also be the image of Queen Marie-Thérèse, but that I seriously doubt.)
The third one, also a Petitot image, is especially interesting to me:
(Note: this is an iStock photo which I paid for the right to use.)
Given Montespan's slightly protruding eyes (a symptom of Grave's disease), her emotional unsteadiness as well as her weight problem later in life, I can't help but wonder if she had a thyroid problem. Are there any doctors among us?
Thank you, Jordan, for bringing these images to our attention.
*****
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4 comments:
Sandra,
Like you, I've read recent historians describe Athenais's eyes as protruding, or "exophthalmic," which would seem to validate the medical questions you raise.
However, I've never read a contemporary of hers quoted as saying that her eyes "bulged." I've merely read that her eyes were "huge," which I had always took to mean "beautiful" or "hypnotic," like, say, Liz Taylor's.
This underlines the headache that researchers such as yourself must deal with when trying to glean the meanings of words across different languages and different centuries!
Personally, looking at these pictures, I can't tell if her orbs are bulging or merely almond-shaped..
From what I understand of hyperthyroidism, Grave's disease sometimes leads to hyperthyroidism. However, the from my readings of Madame de Montespan, she doesn't exhibit the symptoms of hyperthyroidism. She did have an increased appetite, but she wasn't depressed as much as moody. She also (clearly) didn't have a waning libido.
I think it is more likely that after such rich and unhealthy food, Madame de Montespan gained weight and possibly, diabetes.
Jordan, so true!
Rachel, good points, although I'd love to discover primary evidence of the state of her libido, waxing or waning. Jordan and I were just corresponding about this: biographers say she had a lively libido, but I don't believe they say why they think so.
Diabetes: that's an interesting thesis. She could also have had hormonal problems after the birth of her last child; that's when her weight rocketed.
This was really interesting. I loved reading it
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