#Claudia Felicitas of Austria

[tiny-librarian]

Royal Birthdays for today, May 30th:

Renzong of Song, Emperor of China, 1010

Theobald I, King of Navarre, 1201

Barbara of Brandenburg, Queen of Bohemia, 1464

Claudia Felicitas of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, 1653

Amadeo I, King of Spain, 1845

Theodora of Greece and Denmark, Margravine of Baden, 1906

[rmelster]

Painted a year before her marriage to Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, this portrait shows us the young archduchess. She was renowned for her beautiful singing voice and the great influence she exerted over her husband. Though not as known as her predecessor, Margaret Theresa of Spain, she shall still be fondly remembered.

Portrait of Claudia Felicitas of Austria

Carlo Dolci, 1672

[rmelster]

Someone should truly speak bout the “later wife effect” that seems to have haunted historical figures since times long forgotten.

To break it down to you, what I call the “later wife effect” occurs when a male historical figure suddenly looses his beloved wife (most of the times, his first one) in an untimely and tragic manner -either by a childbirth gone wrong, an accident or a sudden illness-, turning the once mirthful husband into a grief-stricken widower. Perhaps because he lacks succession from said wife, because he has to provide spares to his heir, or even because an alliance is needed, he is forced to marry again; but the love never arises fully, their marriage turns into a bound of duty, and no matter what she does, or how loved she is outside their marriage: the later wife will forever be under the shadow of the first, a perfect idol, immortalised by her early death.

The “later wife effect” knows various levels:

In 1673, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, lost his beloved Margaret Theresa when she was yet to turn twenty two and with child. Their seven years of union had produced four children, but only a daughter lived when Margaret Theresa died, and he went on to marry twice again; and even though he would sorrowfully remark that neither Claudia Felicitas of Austria or Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg, his following brides, were “not like my only Margaretha”, his marriages were remarkably happy and so was he. This could be one of the mildest examples.

The middle ground would be when the marriage with the later wife is dutiful and polite, but loveless. Frederick William II of Hesse married Alexandra Nikolaevna, but soon lost her due to complications of childbirth. He would remarry nine years later to the beautiful and lively Anna of Prussia, and even though they eventually had six children, their marriage was notably cold and unhappy. Leopold I of Belgium widowed of his wife, Charlotte of Wales, soon after she gave birth to a dead son; fifteen years later, know king of Belgium, he took Louise-Marie of Orléans hand in marriage; she was shy, delicate, witty and partook in many charitable causes, earning the love of the Belgians, and the respect of her husband, with whom she had a fruitful and tranquil union; but Leopold would not be faithful to her, committing adultery with a much younger Arcadie Claret, who was said to resemble the long gone princess Charlotte. She perished a year after he had a son with Claret, and her dead did not stop the relationship between the two of them.

More unhappy cases of this effect would be those of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, and his descendant, Joseph II. When still an archduke, Maximilian married Mary of Burgundy and loved her much, a love so legendary it lived through generations in the art commissioned by their descendants. But the fairytale would come to an abrupt end when, after five years of marriage, Mary would find her untimely dead while pregnant with their fourth child, after her horse threw her off the saddle. Maximilian was most heartbroken and, after a failed marriage attempt with the young duchess Anne of Brittany, he would wed Bianca Maria Sforza. The empress from Milan was deemed “more beautiful than Mary” by Maximilian, but neither her beauty not her many charms of her would soften his callous attitude towards his wife. Having endured a miscarriage during the first months of their union, Bianca Maria, the once most sought after princess in Europe, had become a ghost in her own court, severely neglected by her husband, who refused to attend to her own funeral nor dedicate a gravestone for her. Similarly, after the traumatic passing of his wife, Isabella of Parma, Joseph II was forced to remarry to Maria Josepha of Bavaria, who he did not found as attractive as the late archduchess. He grew so disgusted of her that the same devoted husband that has been by Isabella’s bedside now commanded to put a wall between his balcony and hers, so that he could not see her, distressing old servants in the palace so much with his cold attitude that some left. When, after two years of marriage, her life was robbed by smallpox -the same ailment that had taken Isabella’s life four years before-, Joseph declared she had been worthy of respect and that he repented his coldness. However, he refused to visit her bedside and did not appear during her burial.

This should not be confused with what I call “the younger wife effect”, which takes place when a widowed historical figure, who had long remained unwed by choice, suddenly takes marriage to a beautiful and much younger person that is described to bring happiness to his once lonely and dull life. This would perfectly be exemplified with prince Maximilian of Saxony’s marriage with princess Maria Luisa Carlota of Parma, almost twenty one years since the passing of his wife (princess Carolina of Parma).

[heavyarethecrowns]

Consorts Spam

Claudia Felicitas of Austria, Holy Roman Empress

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Claudia Felicitas of Austria by Carlo Dolci, 1672.

[excellei]

The Characters of Las Meninas

In 1656, Diego Velázquez made history by completing his painting, Las Meninas. It would become globally recognized as one of the greatest paintings of all time. The art work maintains a timelessness, mesmerizing generation to generation of onlookers. Las Meninas is a conglomerate of self-portrait, royal portrait and genre— a grand demonstration of the great possibilities of the art form. It is a spectacle of mastery, filled with mysteries and puzzles to contemplate and be inspired by. The painting’s characters, including the artist himself cary rich stories in their places in history. The history embedded in the painting is what has captivated me the most.

Diego Velázquez himself is featured in the painting posed in front of an easel equipped with brush and paint, gazing at the viewer. He was born in Spain in the year of 1599 in Seville, Spain. At the age of eleven he began an apprenticeship with local painter, Francisco Pacheco. Young Diego learned very quickly and soon passed his teacher in skill, to which Pacheco gave his daughter to him impressed by his virtue and talent. Velázquez and his new wife, Juana then moved to Madrid where with the help of his father-in-law’s connections broke entry into wealthy and powerful circles. He quickly became popular for his spectacular royal portraits and was eventually able to paint for the king. King Philip IV was so impressed with his craftsmanship that he vowed to never pose for another painter and admitted Velázquez to his court. Just like that Velázquez became the official painter of the Spanish Royal Family. He was beloved by King Philip IV firstly for his exceptional skill in painting his portraits and then eventually as a close friend. The room in which Las Meninas is hosted in is Diego’s private studio in the royal castle. Diego was given the luxury of being inspired by other great painters in the court and by trips to Italy where he was influenced greatly. In Las Meninas, a red signia glows on the chest of Velázquez. Much later after the initial painting of LM, Diego Velázquez died shortly after being inducted into the Catholic organization the Order of Santiago. After hearing the news, King Philip ordered that the the Order’s insignia be painted onto his chest in the painting. Some even claim the king did it himself.

Princess Margaret is in the center of the painting being attended to by her two ladies in waiting. Young Margaret was the last remaining child of the king and queen. She was a healthy and bright child despite the consanguinity of her parents. She was loved greatly by her parents and the royal court, nicknamed “little angel” and referred to as “my joy” by her father. She would later be given away to her uncle, The Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, who had the same strikingly huge lips, nose and eyes as her father. The marriage was purely a political move but reportedly was happy due to their common interests. They fondly referred to one another as uncle and niece, which is slightly cute but mostly disturbing. During her six years of marriage she gave birth to four children, only one of them survived. She would later grow to become extremely anti-semitic and blame the deaths of her children on the presence of Jews in the country.  She encouraged her husband to destroy their temples and drive them out of Vienna. At the early age of 21 she became ill with Bronchitis during her last pregnancy. Due to the frequent miscarriages and prematurely dead babies she was not strong enough to fight the illness and died. Being the only heir to the Spanish throne she passed the legacy to her only living daughter who then passed it to her son. Her husband quickly remarried even though referring to her as “his only Margaret” to his second of three wives, Claudia Felicitas of Austria.

To the far right of the young princess are two dwarves of the court, one male and one female. Dwarves were highly sought after in royal circles, they were frequently given as gifts and were seen as a luxurious commodity. A dwarf was often given as an expensive gift, like a pet. Royalty favoured being served, entertained, and surrounded by them because it made royalty seem even larger, beautiful and powerful. There is a popular theme amongst accounts of dwarves in the royal court of mischievousness and wild antics. Many were beloved as a source of entertainment and were nearly encouraged to act wild. There are recorded accounts of people attempting to breed dwarves for commodity. Some even went as far as attempting to stunt the growth of children, turning them into dwarves by mutilating their tendons and muscles.

In the lit doorway stands Don José Nieto Velázquez, the chamberlain to the queen and the keeper of royal tapestries. Looming behind the children are a nun, Doña Marcela de Ulloa and an unidentified bodyguard to the princess.

Covering the back walls of the studio are two famous paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, one where a god challenges a man to a flute playing contest and the other with a goddess challenging a woman to a basket weaving contest. The placement of these paintings are very symbolic and intentional. They are to symbolize the holiness of skill and mastery, revering art as coming from a godly source. In Diego’s time, painting did not hold the place of reverence and respect that other art forms such as poetry and music did. At the height of his talent and career, here In LM, Diego paints about painting itself. He creates this spectacular work of art showcasing to the world the power of paint— one can see this attitude in the eyes of Diego in the painting, he is looking to the viewer with a bold, comfortable confidence of a master at work. This painting elevated the craft of painting, generating popularity and respect for the art-form.

[jeannepompadour]

Holy Roman Empress Claudia Felicitas of Austria, 1673 

[nikolaeftimov-blog]

Anna de' Medici, Archduchess of Further Austria, Countess of Tyrol Anna de' Medici (21 July 1616 – 11 September 1676) was a daughter of Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his wife Maria Maddalena of Austria. A patron of the arts, she married Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Further Austria in 1646. They were the parents of Claudia Felicitas of Austria, Holy Roman Empress. Image: Justus Sustermans, Anna de' Medici, circa 1630.  Current location: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.  Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_de%27_Medici,_Archduchess_of_Austria?oldformat=true

[history-of-fashion]

1672 Carlo Dolci - Claudia Felicitas of Austria

(Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna)

[tiny-librarian]

Claudia Felicitas of Austria, Holy Roman Empress.

[venicepearl]

Giovanni Maria Morandi -  Claudia Felicitas of Austria

[tiny-librarian]

The three wives of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor:

Margarita Teresa of Spain: Both his niece and first cousin, the couple were married in 1666 when she was just 15. Despite their age difference (The groom was 26), they were very happy together and had a lot in common. They had four children, but only one daughter survived to adulthood. During her final pregnancy, with a daughter who only lived for two weeks, she developed bronchitis. She had been weakened by multiple pregnancies and at least two miscarriages in such a short time period, and she died on March 12th, 1673. She was only 21, and left behind a devastated husband who had truly loved her.

Claudia Felicitas of Austria: The need for a male heir prompted him to marry again barely seven months after his first wife’s death and ultimately he chose Claudia Felicitas, who was his second cousin. She was a young and pretty woman, but Leopold was still in mourning for his first wife and is reported to have said she was “not like my only Margareta”. They had two short lived daughters, but she died suddenly of tuberculosis on April 8th, 1676, after only 3 years of marriage. They had developed a happy marriage in that brief time, and Leopold retired to a monastery to mourn after her death. 

Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg: With no living son from his first two wives, he married his third (Who was also his third cousin) on December 14th of 1676, eight months after Claudia Felicitas died. The bride was not very enthusiastic about the match, having been brought up to an extreme degree of piety, and had apparently wished to become a nun. She remained very pious after her marraige, and was known for being generous and charitable. The couple had ten children, five of whom survived to adulthood, and two of their sons became Holy Roman Emperors after their father’s death.

[tiny-librarian]

The Heart Urn of Claudia Felicitas of Austria, Holy Roman Empress as the second wife of Leopold I, located inside the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.

[tiny-librarian]

Royal Birthdays for today, May 30th:

Renzong of Song, Emperor of China, 1010

Theobald I, King of Navarre, 1201

Claudia Felicitas of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, 1653

Amadeo I, King of Spain, 1845

[tiny-librarian]

Claudia Felicitas of Austria, Holy Roman Empress

Source

[tiny-librarian]

Portrait of Claudia Felicitas of Austria, Holy Roman Empress as the second wife of Leopold I.