Countess castiglione biography of albert
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FROM THE BYGONE
Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione (1837 – 1899), better known as La Castiglione, was an Italian aristocrat who was a special agent for the cause of Italian unification, the mistress of Napoleon III, and a mysterious recluse notorious for her numerous love affairs. She was born to a noble Florentine family and at 17 she married the Count di Castiglione. It was a bad match; she cheated on him shamelessly and eventually left him bankrupt. In 1857 they separated. She left Paris in 1858, due to the scandal surrounding her liaison with Napoléon III.
Before that, while still living in Paris, the Countess had created a känsla. The beautiful statuesque countess was both decadent and extravagant. Lavish balls where prevalent during the period and she became known for her flamboyant entrances in elaborate dress at the imperial court. One of her most infamous outfits was a “Queen of Hearts” costume. She was even considered the most beautiful woman of
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Dixon Gallery & Gardens
In 1854, a sixteen-year-old newlywed named Virginia Oldoini Verasis (1837-1899) assumed the title of the Countess of Castiglione, and made that new identity her own. A great beauty, grande horizontale, and mistress to Napoleon III, the Countess was an iconic figure of the glamorous Second Empire. In an era when the average person might be photographed once in his or her lifetime, the Countess commissioned more than 400 images of herself from the Parisian studio photographer Pierre-Louis Pierson and others. She spent much of her fortune, even going into debt, in pursuing this creative endeavor.
Countess de Castiglione: The Allure of Creative Self-Absorption features over thirty of these photographs surrounding the Dixon Gallery and Gardens’ own rare 1864 terracotta bust of the Countess by the French sculptor Albert Ernest Carrier- Belleuse (1824 – 1887). In extending this concept of feminine creative self-representation, the exhibition also includes
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Places: Place Vendôme
Perspective: it’s a remarkable thing.
Consider the Italian aristocrat and courtesan Countess de Castiglione, who lived much of her life in France. Those in whom her name elicits recognition will most likely know her as the subject and co-author of the most remarkable series of photographic portraits of the 19th century. Now largely in the possession of New York’s Met, this body of work would also – you might think – be a gift to a biographer, abounding with details of Castiglione’s life and rich in psychological portent. And that’s before you consider its wider significance – its impact on fellow aesthetes, inspiration for artists and the astonishing premonition of the present age’s image-saturated culture of narcissism which it represents.
Read the most recent biography of Castiglione, however, and you’ll find one paragraph about the countess’s photographic works in 230 pages which detail Second Empire intrigue and espionage in bewil