The Ugly Duchess

Assalammualaikum (and good evening)

The Ugly Duchess

Tell me, would you dare to call a duchess ugly? You'd dare to think, to ponder, to gossip, but you'd never dare to say it to her face. For it would not just break her, it might tear her apart (and you).

Beauty is VERY important in a woman's life, because ... well, just because. Not having anyone to love you and appreciate what you are, what you have, will destroy a person's self-confidence. Wonder why I keep saying on about appreciation of beauty?

Well, my dearz, it's my utmost pleasure to introduce you to the most grotesque, yet beautiful painting I've ever seen in my whole youthful life 😉



To describe this painting, particularly the grotesque old woman, we can see the upturned nose, wrinkled breast and beady eyes. The question buzzing in my head is, why would Quentin Massys paint such an ugly picture?

In recent years, researcher have found that the woman in painting was actually suffering from an advanced form of osteitis deformans, which left her with an extended upper lip, deformed jaw and a pushed up nose. Poor lady ... 😢😢😢

BUT THAT'S OKAY! Because when I look closely (from my unprofessional POV), I can see that Massys painted his model with care, and there is a kindness in her eyes. The kindness maybe comes from years and years of torture by society in her era, who takes physical beauty very seriously. And there she was, the ugly duchess. I think of her as a grateful lady, for she had the wealth, but not the health, and she make up for her ugliness with the kindness in her eyes.

And this is why we should really stress on APPRECIATION OF BEAUTY - regardless of the many forms it comes in.

Love,
Nadya.