Sunday, March 13, 2011

Yay or Nay? Infanta Carlota Joaquina de Borbon y Borbon-Parma

It was a close call for Jean-Dominique Fabry Garat last week.  Perhaps if he didn't sport the comb-over he would have been safe, but sadly a grown man in a skeleton suit earns a Nay.  Maybe we should have stuck with fancy gowns after all?


Giusepe Trono paints Carlota Joaquina (circa 1790) in her gauzy open trimmed with blue flowers.  Yay or Nay?

18 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 13, 2011 at 12:11 AM

    I'm not fond of the horizontal trim on the underskirt, or of the miniature she's wearing at (below?) her breast, but those are mostly trivial. Yay!

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  2. balsamfirMarch 13, 2011 at 9:35 AM

    I'm going to vote nay. She's got these stuck on attachments(black ribbon, oversized miniature) that detract from the line and lack cohesion.

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  3. JaniceBMarch 13, 2011 at 10:43 AM

    This one is a nay for me, the not-so-miniature just puts it too far over the top.

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  4. AnonymousMarch 13, 2011 at 10:46 AM

    YAy. That dress is what the 18th century is all about!

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  5. PeggyMarch 13, 2011 at 11:16 AM

    I vote Yay. I love the colors, the simple way her hair is, as her dress is on the ornate side. The cameo she has is kinda sweet to me. And with the black ribbon, maybe she's remembering someone?

    Yay for sure!

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  6. PlumMarch 13, 2011 at 11:24 AM

    i want this to be a yay but i have to say nay. the belt the huge miniature and that ribbon just makes her look weighed down and over decorated. Like too many knick knacks on a small shelf.

    Other then that i like the outfit

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  7. nightsmusicMarch 13, 2011 at 11:44 AM

    Good gravy, NAY! How old was this child? I know it was the fashion to make them look like little adults, but she looks like an 80 year old going to a ball masque. And I doubt that's what the artist or whoever commissioned the painting had in mind.

    Frumpy, overdone, comical in all of it's frou frou placements, the miniature hanging in the center in order to, what I'm guessing, hide her lack of boobs...

    ugh.

    Not on a child.

    Nay.

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  8. Snickers MomMarch 13, 2011 at 1:59 PM

    YAY! This is gorgeous. I love the blue flowers. OK, she was born in 1775, so she was about 15 yrs old and already married. The not so miniature is of her husband (John VI of Brazil).

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  9. CarrotsMarch 13, 2011 at 5:35 PM

    Um...it's not bad, but it's a little too...too...just too! Frou frou, maybe? Nay.

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  10. Retro BlogMarch 13, 2011 at 6:34 PM

    Pretty, um rather a large dim bustle in the back? R

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  11. Retro BlogMarch 13, 2011 at 6:35 PM

    Um is that a bustle hiding in back?
    Weak yay.

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  12. Michele R.March 13, 2011 at 8:10 PM

    I'm not overly fond of the whole thing myself. But considering she was 15 & had been married for about 5 years when the marriage was consummated is when this picture was painted, it's no wonder she looks old for her age.

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  13. AnonymousMarch 13, 2011 at 9:42 PM

    The hair kinda creeps me out but because of the dress, I'm going with a yay.

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  14. RebeccaMarch 14, 2011 at 2:35 AM

    Wow that's so pretty! and she looks like a porclin doll!
    Lovely dress and it suits her well.
    YAY!

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  15. EllaMarch 15, 2011 at 4:47 AM

    Unfortunetley a nay. The hair is...odd & very spherical, almost cueball like. The dress seems visually weighted down by the darker ribbon, turquoise trim in the front on the skirt & sizeable miniature. Remove those & I think it would have a certain sugary elegance to it that would make this a charming portrait. The colour of the dress however seems complimentary to her skin tone. The roses are lovely.

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  16. allyls2010March 15, 2011 at 7:24 PM

    Individually, I like every aspect of the gown, but put it all together, and you've got way too much going on. The turquoise lace on the front looks too excessive with the blue back, for one thing, and the miniature and the belt make it all look sort of silly. So I have to vote nay. Then again, this is definitely the prettiest portrait I've ever seen of "the ugliest royal ever", so I'll give it props for that. (She was reputedly only about 4'6'' and came complete "with bloodshot eyes, a hooked noose, bluish lips, uneven teeth and 'unruly and dirty hair' - even on her hands", according to http://www.xs4all.nl/~monarchs/madmonarchs/maria1/maria1_bio.htm, a biography of her mother-in-law.) So...even if this is a mediocre portrait, it's actually not a bad portrait of Carlota Joaquina, all things considered.

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  17. AdelaideMarch 16, 2011 at 6:05 PM

    A BIG nay for the wig and also a Nay for the whole look.Just....Nay.

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  18. The DreamstressMarch 18, 2011 at 5:09 AM

    Nay...yay...nay...yay...no, definitely NAY.

    On the one hand, Carlota was between 10-15 when this painting was done, and her outfit looks exactly like what a little girl would choose as a princess dress - all those elements, all at once! So I feel I ought to support the outfit being childlike. But then, 10-15 is too old for that sort of dressups, so nay. Besides, whatever the age, there is just so much going on that it gets very awkward and ugly.

    However, I do think that if you did a little big-fat-greek-wedding session on the dress and ripped half the ornamentation off and mussed her hair a bit, you'd end up with something gorgeous!

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