Lucrezia de' Medici (1545-1561)work of art Created circa 1560 Artist Alessandro Allori Nationality Italian Birth/Death 1535-1607 Dimensions 32 1/2 x 24 3/4 inches (82.6 x 62.9 centimeters) Medium Oil on panel, Painting Credit Gift of Mrs. George Khuner Object Number G.64.35.4 Culture European Italian Classification Paintings Department Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is taken on an unexpected visit to a country villa by her husband, Alfonso. Whether youre the kind of person who frequently enjoys time-traveling through fiction, or youve been holding out for a second trip back in time with OFarrell, youre in luck: THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT is another richly imagined, suspenseful, feminist historical novel. Had the world been operating normally, I would have gone fairly quickly to Italy to research the various locations and to gaze upon the portraits of Lucrezia and her family. WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION FINALIST REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER The author of award-winning Hamnet brings the world of Renaissance Italy to jewel-bright life in this unforgettable fictional portrait of the captivating young duchess Lucrezia de' Medici as she makes her way in a troubled court. . Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. The narrative moves back and forth from the nearly deserted fortress where Lucrezia plays a game of cat and mouse with the duke of Ferrara, the husband who might be attempting to kill her, and the events that have brought her here. OFarrell has an uncanny ability to put us in Lucrezias very unusual shoes. Want to know what people are actually reading right now? The Uffizi has a room dedicated to Lucrezias family: mostly painted by Bronzino, the portraits of the Medicis hang in a riot of coloured silk and glittering jewellery and sentient gazes on dark walls, almost as if they are suspended in space. This long-lasting rumor became the basis of Robert Brownings dramatic 1842 poem My Last Duchess, which begins, Thats my last Duchess painted on the wall, / Looking as if she were alive.. Any changes made can be done at any time and will become effective at the end of the trial period, allowing you to retain full access for 4 weeks, even if you downgrade or cancel. OFarrell intersperses these scenes of youth and childhood with later scenes of Lucrezias marriage to Alfonso --- from their idyllic honeymoon at a country estate to her eventual presentation at court. How will he do it? You will receive a Verify Email to complete process, #BookReview of #TheMarriagePortrait by Maggie, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), My Mini Book Reviews of a few of my Summer reads | #bookreview, #BookReview of #ALessonInMalice by @catherinekirwan @HachetteIre, #BookReview of #TheRachelIncident by Caroline O Donoghue, #BookReview of #TheMoonGate by @AmandaGeard, #BookReview of #ForgottenOnSunday by @valerieperrin_ | @EuropaEdUK, #BookReview of #ThePaperMan by Billy O Callaghan @billythescribe, #BookReview of #TheBeeSting by Paul Murray, #Extract from #TheBloodOfOthers by Graham Hurley | @Seasidepicture @AriesFiction. James Corwin SPOILER: Wow.I didn't think there was anything subtle about this ending, it was a huge surprise after we're told on pg 1 that a year after her marriage, Lucrezia would be dead! The Marriage Portrait: A novel Kindle Edition - amazon.com Copyright 2023The Book Report, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Marriage Portrait shares a keynote poem (Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess") with After You'd Gone, and an iconic 16th-century backdrop with Hamnet. I also went in search of the portraits Id been gazing at for two years. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. The Marriage Portrait Chapter Summaries - eNotes.com Many of us have some connection with Shakespeare, through our education or from general interest, but how many of us are as familiar with this period of Renaissance Italy? FINALIST 2023, Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction Lucrezia quickly realizes that the longer it takes her to produce an heir, the more danger she is in. But in the end I still appreciate OFarrells writing and wound up liking the end. Brownings Alfonso might have closed a curtain over the portrait of his duchess to declare her his possession, but OFarrell rips that curtain away and gives her a life. . Much as she did with her moving, vivid Shakespeare tale, Hamnet, OFarrell takes the tiny bit we know about this historical figure and weaves it into a transportive journey. A note on the table bears the inscription "Nec ulla impudica Lucretiae exemplo vivet" (no unchaste woman shall live by Lucretia's example), a quotation from Livy's account of the suicide. Great review Mairead. To look into her eyes, OFarrell writes, was to behold the visage of an incandescent, forbidden deity. A fascinating talk I would think Joanne. | ISBN 9780593320631 . The Marriage Portrait is an emotionally intense read, lushly draped in atmospheric details . Lucrezia is taking her seat at the long dining table, which is polished to a watery gleam and spread with dishes, inverted cups, a woven circlet of fir. For a full comparison of Standard and Premium Digital, click here. "The Marriage Portrait" Maggie O'Farrell, Knopf, 352 pp., $28 Who was Lucrezia de' Medici and what drew you to telling her story? Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. You may know the history, and you may think you know whats coming, but dont be so sure. In truth, she thinks, still up by the cold, sweating stone of the halls ceiling, the ride here from court was dull, through fields stark and frozen, the sky so heavy it seemed to droop, exhausted, on the tops of bare trees. Thank you so so much. . Will be reading this one soon and going to see her talk about the book in a couple of weeks. . She is nodding and making sympathetic murmurs at appropriate moments, but what she really wants to do is look him in the eye and say: I know what you are up to. If youd like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. She tries to be the woman she is meant to be but the restrictions of court life and the erratic behaviour of her husband, cause her many sleepless nights. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Used with permission of the publisher, Knopf. O'Farrell excels at sumptuous set pieces: Lucrezia's encounter with a tiger her father keeps in the basement beneath their palace, the wedding where she is draped and almost swallowed up by her gown, her meetings with the mysterious figures at her new home, particularly her enigmatic husband. As a child of a noble family in Florence, she was untamable and passionate about making art. You can view Barnes & Nobles Privacy Policy. The horses have been led away, she has removed her sodden cloak and hat, and he has watched her do this, standing with his back to the blaze in the grate, and now he is gesturing to the country servants in the halls outer shadows to step forward and place food on their plates, to slice the bread, to pour wine into their cups, and she is suddenly recalling the words of her sister-in-law, delivered in a hoarse whisper: You will be blamed. She is no ordinary mortal. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. In THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT, O'Farrell imagines Lucrezia's childhood in the Florentine court, her love of animals and learning, along with her free spirit. On 3 July, 24-year-old Alfonso and 13-year-old Lucrezia were married in the chapel in the Palazzo Pitti [8] (or according to another version in the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella [9] ), by the bishop of Cortona, Giovan Battista di Simone Ricasoli. She lives in Edinburgh. [2] It was then still misattributed to Giorgione. The Marriage Portrait is an intriguing tale of lies and deceit, of greed and exploitation, of vengeance and defiance, of passion and of hate. Lucrezia de' Medici is the protagonist of The Marriage Portrait, and the story focuses on her childhood and her marriage to Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara. offers FT membership to read for free. Her other novels include Hamnet (winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award), After You'd Gone, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, The Hand That First Held Mine (winner of the Costa Novel Award), and . The Marriage Portrait: A novel - Maggie O'Farrell - Google Books You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 4,190 per month. To redeem, copy and paste the code during the checkout process. They have travelled for most of the day, using what little daylight the season offers, leaving Ferrara at dawn and riding out to what he had told her was a hunting lodge, far in the north-west of the province. As the novels two timelines draw together, OFarrell builds intense suspense. OFarrell changes the perspective on that sinister little masterpiece, bringing alive the painted duchess, Lucrezia di Cosimo de Medici, fifth child of the powerful Grand Duke of Tuscany. Maria is hardly cold in her coffin when Alfonsos emissaries propose that Lucrezia would be an acceptable substitute. The palazzo of Lucrezia's father was a changeable building, unstable as a weathervane. Florence, the 1550s. There are several others of Lucrezias numerous siblings on display but no Lucrezia. There is a version of the Bronzino portrait, painted by Alessandro Allori, held in North Carolina Museum of Art, but could I find one in Europe? To reimagine and recreate my fictional versions of these long-dead Renaissance people, I peered at portraits on the website of the Uffizi Gallery. We are experiencing technical difficulties. 'The Marriage Portrait' brings little-known renaissance figures to The story of the young dutchess Lucrezia de Medici, I listened while walking the dogs, making dinner, and driving to work. "I could not stop reading this incredible true story." Reese . A compelling portrait of a young woman out of step with her times. I hope you enjoy it. . The Marriage Portrait is based on the life of Lucrezia deMedici, born into one of Italys most illustrious families. Lucrezia is something of a thorn in her mothers side because, unlike her older sisters, who are biddable beauties dutifully preparing themselves for advantageous marriages, shes restless and strong-willed. Maggie O Farrell on seeing the image was immediately captivated by this young girl with a dark-eyed gaze and a slightly troubled expression and knew the instant I saw her that I would write about her reimagining her life in this fascinating and intriguing tale.Even though The Marriage Portrait is a fictional recreation, there is an authenticity to the characters, creating a real sense of truth throughout. I thought I had made myself clear. Lucrezia, although only twelve years of age, was betrothed to her sister Marias intended husband, Alfonso II dEste, heir to the Duke of Fererra, Modena and Reggio. 1 bestsellers. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. organisation What mesmerised me was the expression on her face: she looks anxious, her eyes filled with apprehension. . The Marriage Portrait of Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara-A Presence Malign In one thrilling chapter, Lucrezia encounters a tiger that the duke has had captured and conveyed to a menagerie he maintains in the palazzos basement. Described as a luminous portrait of a marriage, at its heart the loss of a beloved child, Hamnet was lush, exquisite and a remarkable piece of literary fiction, so my expectations were set very high for this one.Set in the mid 1500s, The Marriage Portrait is the reimagining of the short life and times of Lucrezia, the third daughter of Cosimo de Medici and his Spanish wife Eleonora. She loved losing herself in her artwork and never looked beyond the present moment, until the day her older sister, Maria, died. Born into the wealthiest and most politically powerful family of the Italian Renaissance, teenage Lucrezia was married off to the handsome and ruthless Duke of Ferrara and was dead within the year. That moment, and the tigers fate, will be elegantly echoed in the novels final chapters. Buy, Sep 06, 2022 LONGLIST 2023, Sign up for news about books, authors, and more from Penguin Random House, Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network. Her novels include AFTER YOUD GONE, MY LOVERS LOVER, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, which won a Somerset Maugham Award, THE VANISHING ACT OF ESME LENNOX, THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE, which won the 2010 Costa Novel Award, INSTRUCTIONS FOR A HEATWAVE and THIS MUST BE THE PLACE., and THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT. BookPage review of The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell Hamnet, Maggie O'Farrell turns her talents to Renaissance Italy in an extraordinary . personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to Giving the end at the beginning made me apprehensive throughout the story and slow my reading down very much because I loved the main character so much. The marriage contracts are negotiated and signed despite Lucrezia's protestations, and soon preparations for the wedding are well underway. All that glitters was most definitely not gold for Lucrezia and her fear jumps off the pages as she becomes aware of the destiny that awaits her. In The Marriage Portrait, Maggie O'Farrell distorts the historical The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell the layers beneath At the table, facing the man she now suspects will kill her, she wishes she had done it, that she had urged her mare into a gallop. OFarrell creates another mesmerizing portrait of a Renaissance-era woman whose life is shrouded in mystery . But the honeymoon doesnt last. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage and her father just as quick to accept on her behalf. She looked, to me, very much like someone who had something she wanted to say. I looked and looked for her, all over the Uffizi, without any luck. In the courts eyes, she has one duty: to provide the heir who will shore up the future of the Ferranese dynasty. OFarrell, who was born in Northern Ireland and lives in Edinburgh, has taken a similar tack in her new novel, The Marriage Portrait. This time the story is sparked by one of the best-known works by British poet Robert Browning, My Last Duchess. His poem is a charming, chilling monologue by a probable murderer, based on a historical figure of the Italian Renaissance, Alfonso II, the fifth Duke of Ferrara, who explains how an exquisite portrait of his late wife came to be painted.
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