I’ve had a thing for the real-life Virginia Oldoini, The Countess of Castiglione (1837-1899) for a loooong time now. First, a gorgeous photo of her in stunning plaid with a crazy wasp waist turned up in a history textbook my freshman year of college. 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.
Possibly her most famous photo | Scherzo di Follia (Countess Virginia Oldoini Verasis di Castiglione [1835–1899]) by Pierre-Louis Pierson, 1863–66, Metropolitan Museum of Art
La Comtesse de Castiglione (The eyes) by Pierre-Louis Pierson, 1863–1866 via ArtNet
Now, the problem with the Countess of Castiglione as a frock flicks subject is that the two main movies about her are in Italian, and hard to track down. I recently stumbled across this 1942 version starring Doris Duranti as the countess on YouTube (the other main film about the countess is the 1954 The Contessa’s Secret starring Yvonne de Carlo; if anyone knows where I can watch it, let me know!). Now, the problem is the film is in Italian without any English subtitles, and my knowledge of Italian is limited to ordering food and booking hotel rooms. So, I basically got about 1% of the dialogue, and very little of the story, so it was basically like watching a beautiful silent film. So this review is basically going to focus on the visuals!
The film starts with the countess in her prime, at the opera, where everyone is dying over how gorgeous she is — with good reason:
She’s all stunning white with a giant hoop, and nobody can take their eyes off her.
She goes home and has some strained conversations with a man who I presume to be her husband.
Okay this dressing gown just screams 1940s.
Check out that AMAZEBALLS HAIR! Before you start screaming “wtf victory rolls??!!”
The real countess really did go in for HA-UGE hairstyles that aren’t that far off! [Profile with Chignon, Large] (Countess Virginia Oldoini Verasis di Castiglione [1835–1899]) by Pierre-Louis Pierson, 1861–63, Metropolitan Museum of Art
“1855 . In Paris for a delicate worldly-diplomatic mission, entrusted by her cousin Count of Cavour to the court of Napoleon III, the beautiful Virginia Oldoini (known as Countess of Castiglione), meets a young Mazzinian carbonaro (an ancient flame of her’s), contrary to Cavourian politics. The meeting takes place precisely at the crucial moment of the countess’s intrigues at the French court, and seeing her ancient love rekindles in her the passion never completely dormant. But the alternative in which the lover (or he or politics) is placed will lead her to choose, albeit reluctantly, her patriotic task.”
Aaaaand Kendra starts shaking her head very, very sadly.
There’s an unfortunately LONG TIME spent in this questionably costumed/haired period:
1. There’s just NOTHING 19th century about this look, and 2. Duranti is FAR TOO OLD to pull it off.
Finally we catch back up to the countess in her OH MY GOD THAT HAIR IS SO FABULOUS period:
#lifegoals #hairgoals #allthegoals
There’s a bunch of scenes of her in 18th century fancy dress where she’s clearly deciding whether she can stomach taking one for the team with Napoleon III:
They go with a very “Madame du Barry look.”
Which isn’t spot on, but isn’t totally unlike her 18th century-inspired fancy dress | Mathilde (Countess of Castiglione) by Pierre-Louis Pierson, 1860s, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Trying not to hurl as Napoleon III cheeses on her.
They do a scene in a dressmaking shop that is working on one of the countess’s costumes:
This is actually pretty cool, because…
…this is a really good approximation of a real costume she wore | La Frayeur (Countess of Castiglione) by Pierre-Louis Pierson, 1861-64, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Her photos would frequently be painted over; the one above is obviously one step in the process to end at this finished image | La Frayeur (Countess of Castiglione) by Pierre-Louis Pierson, 1861-64, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Also, this costume still exists at LACMA! | Gown for the Comtesse di Castiglione, Erté (Romain de Tirtoff), 1861-1867, LACMA
At one point she’s reunited with her lover:
Which was notable to me, because her plaid dress…
…reminded me of the very first image I ever saw of the countess, in which I died over her (probably photographically altered) wasp waist | La Comtesse de Castiglione – La robe écossaise by Pierre-Louis Pierson, 1859 via Artsy
And then in a euphemistic shot that completely reminded me of The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing, she’s seen on stage — NO idea what’s up with that, as far as I know the real countess didn’t do any theater?? — in her 18th century get-up, swinging as Napoleon, Eugenie, and the court look on, in what is clearly a metaphor for “Ok I will shag this guy for Italy.”
WHAT is the whole swinging = sex thing??
Empress Eugenie with her game face on.
Do you ever watch movies in languages you can’t understand?
The swing pic may refer to this painting by Fragonard?
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Hasards_heureux_de_l%27escarpolette#/media/Fichier:Fragonard,_The_Swing.jpg
I would prefer a more historical and clothing accurate movie than the 1940s one and I’m wondering since the countess was a supporter of the Italian Union did she know the Milanese Countess Maffei who was portrayed in the biopic series Verdi which had good costumes?
Costuming La Castiglione would be one time that the infamous ‘I want to show my tits’ meme would be appropriate. According to contemporaries she had a fabulous figure and wasn’t shy about showing it off.
I once watched several hours of La Vengenza (a Spanish Soap opera) when I was at home before I had to go to work on Univision. I don’t know Spanish more than some numbers and a handful of words to order deli items. I was able to vaguely follow what was going on through the over-the-top acting and flashbacks. This was in the early 2000s, so it was only recently that I looked it up on Wikipedia, and found my inference was actually pretty accurate given I had no idea what anyone was saying.
Here is the version with Yvonne De Carlo – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpDoq0k649w.
That photo of her on the swing looks like they were attempting a tableau of Fragonard’s 1767 painting, The Swing, or ‘The Happy Accident’
Yes, but in film, swinging seems to have been used as a euphemism for sex — I wonder how far back that goes? Does Fragonard’s painting have the same subtext? Must find out.
Well on the painting, the lady basically opens her legs so that her lover hidden in a bush can enjoy the view from below… so yes, sex!
I forget where I read that the centrifugal force generated by the action of a swing creates pressure on the female genital organs, and therefore mildly stimulates them. If so, then presumably swings and sex will have been connected since they were first invented. (Looking back, that may possibly be why as a pre-teen I enjoyed the swings in the playground so much; I would have swung for hours if there hadn’t always been someone else who wanted a go on them.)
Yes, it’s found it. 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 saw that exhibition at the Met! They made her out to be some sort of gigantic narcissist who only posed for photographs. Now I know better. Thanks!
I don’t think narcissist is the right word. Granted Castiglione was obsessed by her own beauty but so was everybody around her. She seems to have made being beautiful the cornerstone of her identity and so was unable to cope when she began to age, though she remained a fine looking woman she no longer matched her self image. She ended her life as a recluse hiding in darkened apartments. Very sad.
1940’s does Period strikes again!
That wasp-waisted dress is the plaidest thing I have ever seen! Nice finds, Kendra.
Isn’t it so GORGEOUS??
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. The opulence of these ladies is over the top. If you want to see more images of La Castiglione you should check it out.