Quentin Massys' The Ugly Duchess - The Story Behind the Famous Satirical Depiction of an Elderly Temptress

According to the most common perception of the Renaissance, it was a period of the great rejuvenation of the human mind and spirit based on the legacy of classical antiquity. Although dazzled with harmony and precision, the Renaissance artists were also interested in humor. This particular tendency is best illustrated by the outstanding 16th century satirical painting, The Ugly Duchess, made by a Dutch artist, Quentin Massys.

This particular portrait of an elderly noblewoman gained quite a reputation after it appeared in 1920 at an auction in New York City. More than twenty years later, The Ugly Duchess was bequeathed to The National Gallery by miss Jenny Louisa Roberta Blaker, where it has been held ever since. This work was initially part of a diptych with a Portrait of an Old Man held at the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris.

Now, after so many decades, Quentin Massys’ best-known work will be conserved and ready to be displayed at The National Gallery in an upcoming exhibition scheduled in spring 2023. The painting’s afterlife will be closely examined, especially in light of its major role in dissemination of secular and satirical art during the Renaissance.

The Story Behind The Ugly Duchess

Painted by Quentin Massys around 1513, this satirical painting is by many perceived as one of the most unforgettable portraits of all time. Executed in oil on an oak panel, it shows an older female, all wrinkly and with withered breasts. She wears the aristocratic horned headdress, escoffion that was out of fashion by the time the painting was made, while holding a red flower, a symbol of engagement, in her right hand, suggesting she is on the lookout for a suitor.

For a long time, An Old Woman aka The Ugly Duchess was thought to have been created by Leonardo da Vinci due to the striking resemblance to his two caricature drawings of heads. Now the caricatures are considered to be based on the work of Massys, who was in correspondence with Leonardo and exchanged drawings.

The literary inspiration for the work is Erasmus’s essay In Praise of Folly (1511), which satirizes elderly women in a misogynist fashion. The depicted lady was identified as Margaret, Countess of Tyrol, who was described by her enemies as ugly; however, she had died 150 years earlier.

According to some scholars, the portrait served as a basis for John Tenniel’s 1869 illustrations of the Duchess in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. For that reason, it was associated with the world of the fairy tale. Another interesting fact regarding the Ugly Duchess was the subject of an article published in the British Medical Journal. It was suggested that the portrayed women suffered from Paget’s disease, after which a person’s bones enlarge and deform.

The Display

The upcoming exhibition will be centered around the long-awaited reunion of An Old Woman aka The Ugly Duchess and her male pendant, An Old Man (about 1513). These two paintings have been on view together once in the Renaissance Faces survey organized by the National Gallery 15 years ago.

An Old Woman is currently undergoing conservation, unrevealing all the layers of its execution. The recent technical examination findings will be taken into account and appropriately contextualized throughout the show. The presentation of this painting will empower the visitors to articulate the appearance and gestures of depicted woman. Since the moral codes of the Renaissance period were believed to be expressed through looks this grotesque portrait was made to mock the vanity of the elderly and ugly who wanted to present themselves as youngsters. The artist portrayed her as a temptress who teases the observer with her exposed breasts that symbolize the temptations of the flesh. At the same time, the horns of her headpiece are seen as deviant or devilish.

What makes the two panels so staggering is not only Quentin Massys’ sense of humor but also the way he mocks the established canons of the double portrait. To accentuate the artist’s critical strategy, the exhibition will feature a few examples from the Gallery’s holdings, such as Jan Gossaert’s Elderly Couple (about 1520), among other works.

The display will include a related drawing after Leonardo da Vinci with the same face that was loaned from the Royal Collection and a small group of rather grotesque drawings by Leonardo and his followers to highlight the lively creative dialogue between Northern and Southern artists at the time.

The Ugly Duchess at The National Gallery

Looking from a contemporary perspective, this iconic painting opens a wide range of subjects related to the representation of bodies of women and the others. The Ugly Duchess could have been easily a portrait of a mature crossdresser or even a sex worker. However, it still tells much about the status of the elderly and ill during the Renaissance period. For the possible interpretations of the Other bodies, the painting is relatable to contemporary audiences, many of them triggered by various filters on social networks that allow you to change your appearance with one click. Furthermore, the upcoming exhibition will address the notion of beauty and question the value still projected on women’s appearance today.