Although pearls are worn by seductresses, a penchant for pearls remains synonymous with fine ladies. Below is the portrait of the beautiful socialite, Lady Helen Vincent, by her friend and the leading painter of English aristocracy and Jewish American haute bourgeoisie of her time, John Singer Sargent. Here, she leans proudly against a balustrade while playing with her long, long, lustrous white pearls.
Lady Helen Vincent by Sargent, 1904
The flowing style of not only the Florentine artist Giovanni Boldini, but of the women that he painted bedecked in pearls serve to accentuate the beauty and femininity of the wearer. In this portrait, Madame Julliard is shown wearing a contrasting simple strand of gorgeous and precious pearls with a low-cut flamboyant raspberry-red dress.
Madame Julliard in Red by Boldini, 1912
One prominent early 19th Century German artist confessed that he had “long since acquired a habit of painting pearls as big as dove’s eggs to satisfy and flatter his female clientele.” Not to be outdone Boldini painted the opera singer Lina Cavalieri wearing her stunning pearls on a black dress with a high collar. Lina performed with Caruso often and was extremely beautiful. Retiring to Italy with her second husband, she died sadly in an air raid during WWII near Florence, Italy while trying to save her precious jewels – her magnificent pearls among them.
.jpg/104px-Boldini_(Lina_Cavalieri).jpg)
Portrait of Lina Cavaliari by Boldini, 1901
The philanthropist, art collector, and arbiter of taste and style of just about anything in America, was Isabelle Stewart Gardner. Although she was eccentric in her behavior, one could overlook that in 1903, she founded a world-class museum in Boston named after her that is still thriving today. One of her close friends, the writer Henry James, was so impressed with her that he included her string of pearls (worn by her on Zorn’s portrait) in his novel, The Wings of the Dove.
Isabella Stewart Gardner in Venice by Zorn, 1894
Isabella Stewart Gardner by Sargent, 1888
The sheer power of pearls to transform and transport us to be who we want to be is a real mystery. And a delicious choice. Let your pearls speak. Are you a seductress or a lady?
Tags: popular
6 Response to The “The Seductresses and the Fine Ladies (Part 2)”
Comments are closed.
Resources
Now I have to have a pearl necklace!
Pearls — small white beads of purity and perfection. It is no wonder that they have fascinated and bewitched cultures the world over for thousands of years. But just what is it about this ancient gem that has so closely bonded it to our lives, our culture, and our bodies? People and Pearls explores and reveals the power of pearls, with their remarkable ability to bestow upon their wearer a sense of mystery, elegance, and grace. It offers a personal look at the world’s most celebrated jewel through portraits of the most memorable personages throughout civilization to have worn them — from Queen Elizabeth to Uma Thurman, from Josephine Baker to Marilyn Monroe. It recounts the stories of particular strands of pearls that have such an enthralling history about them that they seem to take on a life of their own. Embellishing the text are more than one hundred lavish illustrations, photography as unique as the subject of the book: These are seductive, beautiful works of ail. Some are humorous. Some are as snapshots from a personal diary. Some are breathtakingly romantic, such as the portrait of Kiki de Montparnasse wearing only her pearls. And some — like the timeless elegance of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s — are dreamlike visions that are simply unforgettable.
Pearls — small white beads of purity and perfection. It is no wonder that they have fascinated and bewitched cultures the world over for thousands of years. But just what is it about this ancient gem that has so closely bonded it to our lives, our culture, and our bodies? People and Pearls explores and reveals the power of pearls, with their remarkable ability to bestow upon their wearer a sense of mystery, elegance, and grace. It offers a personal look at the world’s most celebrated jewel through portraits of the most memorable personages throughout civilization to have worn them — from Queen Elizabeth to Uma Thurman, from Josephine Baker to Marilyn Monroe. It recounts the stories of particular strands of pearls that have such an enthralling history about them that they seem to take on a life of their own. Embellishing the text are more than one hundred lavish illustrations, photography as unique as the subject of the book: These are seductive, beautiful works of ail. Some are humorous. Some are as snapshots from a personal diary. Some are breathtakingly romantic, such as the portrait of Kiki de Montparnasse wearing only her pearls. And some — like the timeless elegance of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s — are dreamlike visions that are simply unforgettable.
This brief sampling of pearls in fine art only scratches the surface of what pearls have done to accentuate our culture.
Portrait of Marie Antoinette by Alexandre Kucharski, probably around 1791, at the height of the French revolution Ornaments worn – Single strand necklace with large spherical pearls. Double strand of pearls around her hair. Alexander Kucharski’s portrait is said to be highly realistic, for despite her relatively young age, being only 36, anxiety and worry is clearly depicted on the Queen’s face caused by the tumultous events of the period.
Artists such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Manet, Titan, Renoir and many others have painted the beauty of women draped in pearls. Photographers have captured Coco Chanel, Jacqueline Kennedy, Marlene Dietrich, Vivien Leigh, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and other society women depicting the continuing love between women and pearls. Sandro Botticielli, known for painting some of the most beautiful female images, painted the portrait of Simonetta Vespucci de’Medici in 1480; she is wearing strings of pearls and pink ribbons woven in her hair and a thick braid of pearls in her clothes which frames her décolletage.