#françois marry

[divinefemmexx]

Venus Nakshatras And Their Partners 🌹

*Disclaimer- These are just observations you may not think this applies to you or the people you know and that’s ok✨ please be kind and if you don’t agree or like this post just ignore it.

Venusians relationships are very flirtatious and affectionate, however, they must be aware to not come off too clingy. They are the type to never stop dating their partner even after marriage. Venusians are so supportive of their partners and any endeavors that they try to pursue, think of them as your personal cheerleader! Another thing I notice is that they find themselves dating or marrying someone who is different from them (race/ethnicity, age, or status), which could make people surprised they’re dating them. For the most part, their relationships are lowkey you don’t really find them in drama. They also seem to love the company of their significant other. Overall, Venusians tend to have fulfilling partnerships that could lead to marriage or just something very long term.

Examples:

-Dylan Minnete (Purva Ashadha Sun) & Isabella Elei

-Monica Belluci (Purva Ashadha ASC) & Vincent Cassel

-Jasmine Tookes (Purva Phalguni Moon) & Juan David Borrero

-Zoe Kravitz (Purva Phalguni Moon, AK) & Channing Tatum

-Salma Hayek (Purva Phalguni Sun & ASC) & François-Henri Pinault

-Jason Momoa (Purva Phalguni Sun) & Lisa Bonet

-Kelly Ripa (Purva Phalguni ASC) & Mark Consuelos

-Cher (Purva Ashadha Moon) & Alexander Edwards

-Adele (Bharani Sun) & Rich Paul

*Note- a couple of the celebrities have unknown birth time*

Yours Truly,

divinefemmexx 🖤

[amateurvoltaire]

February has finally come to an end, and being the so-called "month of love" (or so the obscene number of pink Hallmark cards in supermarkets would have me believe), I thought—despite being very, very late for Valentine’s Day (when am I not late for everything?)—I’d take the opportunity to talk about Robespierre’s love life. Because surely, he had one, right?

Well... that depends on who you ask. Accounts of Robespierre’s romantic escapades range from total abstinence to secret debauchery and a supposed porn addiction, depending on which political or moral flavour the historian (1) writing the accounts subscribes to.

In case you’re dying of curiosity: there is precisely zero evidence that Maximilien Robespierre slept with anyone—man, woman, or even himself. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Does this mean he didn’t? Was he asexual? Abstinent? Just busy?

No. It simply means that if he did have any romantic or sexual encounters, he was extremely discreet about them (and why wouldn’t he be? It’s not as if he’d start randomly monologuing about his love life mid-speech at the Convention or the Jacobins).

As for his relationships with women, here’s what we do know:

As a politician, he was wildly popular with women, to the point of receiving marriage proposals in the mail.

He never married, and while rumours of his engagement exist, they remain just that—rumours. He died at 36, unmarried, childless, and leaving behind no diary or trove of love letters to illuminate his feelings.

He has been posthumously linked to three women: Anaïs Deshors, Éléonore Duplay, and Annette Duplessis. However, these claims are flimsy at best, often put forth by people with their own agendas.

He did, however, write love poems to several women in Arras: a Miss Orptelia Mondlen, a Mlle Henriette, an Émilie Demoncheaux (on the eve of her wedding, no less), and a certain Sylvie.

In short, if we want to find any direct evidence of Robespierre’s feelings towards women, we have to turn to his poetry. And since this is Robespierre—where everything must have some kind of political dimension—let’s talk about how his one publicly released love poem was used against him in the monarchist press.

Robespierre’s Love Poems

As mentioned, a number of love poems have been attributed to Robespierre, though not always convincingly. He wasn’t particularly eager to see them published, and only one ever made it to the general public during his lifetime—both times without his consent.

The poem in question is a madrigal dedicated, according to the Œuvres, to a “Miss Orptelia (possibly Ophelia?) Mondieu.” It was first published anonymously in 1787 in two different collections, without Robespierre’s knowledge. Later, it was republished—again without his consent—by the royalist writer François-Louis Suleau (2), who used it to mock him.

Here’s the poem:

Madrigal

Crois-moi, jeune et belle Ophélie, Quoi qu’en dise le monde et malgré ton miroir, Contente d’être belle et de n’en rien savoir, Garde toujours la modestie. Sur le pouvoir de tes appas Demeure toujours alarmée Tu n’en seras que mieux aimée, Si tu crains de ne l’être pas.

And my translation:

Madrigal

Believe me, young and beautiful Ophélie, No matter what the world may say, and despite thy looking-glass, Content to be beautiful yet know naught of it, Keep thy modesty always. Be ever wary of the power of thy charms; Thou shalt be all the more loved, If thou fearest not being unloved.

Baudelaire, he is not. But it’s charming in its own earnest, slightly awkward way, no? Hardly the stuff of grand, sweeping romance, but if someone wrote this for me, I’d at least pretend to be flattered.

So why was it mocked? Well, for Suleau and his fellow scribes at Actes des Apôtres (3), this was an opportunity far too delicious to ignore.

The Mockery of Suleau

In a November 1789 issue of the paper, Suleau went after Robespierre with sharp sarcasm, mocking him over a minor linguistic mistake in one of his speeches—using "aristocrassique" instead of "aristocratique"—and dismissing him as a mere "poor scholarship student," while feigning an air of condescending generosity. Then came the poetic insults: Suleau sarcastically presented the madrigal as a work of supreme literary genius, only to rip it apart.

He compared Robespierre’s writing to Tacitus, only to immediately undercut the compliment by drawing a parallel to Montesquieu—before mockingly dismissing the comparison, given Montesquieu’s "aristocratic tendencies."

The pièce de résistance? A biting final flourish in which he ironically declared Robespierre a polymath—poet, historian, geographer, naturalist, physicist, journalist, legislator—before delivering the ultimate insult: if Mirabeau was the “torch of Provence,” then Robespierre was merely the “candle of Arras.”

In case it wasn’t obvious, this had little to do with Robespierre’s poetic talents and everything to do with his politics.

Robespierre’s Response

How did Robespierre react? He didn’t. Not a word—not even to disavow the poem. Clearly, he subscribed to the "don’t feed the trolls" school of thought.

The fact that he didn’t deny authorship was enough for historians like Eugène Déprez (who compiled the first volume of Robespierre’s Œuvres Complètes) to confidently attribute it to him.

What Do His Poems Tell Us About Him?

Is that enough proof? Debatable. But even if we accept that Robespierre wrote this madrigal and the other five attributed love poems (mediocre as they may be), what do they actually tell us about him?

His greatest fan, historian Albert Mathiez, thought these poems proved that "far from possessing a barren heart, as some have claimed, he was endowed with a trembling sensitivity and by nature sought the company of the fairer sex."

Did he? Do these light verses really reveal that much?

Personally—and this is just an opinion, because when it comes to Robespierre’s love life, opinions are all we have—I think what these poems tell us most is that, back in the 1780s, Robespierre understood what was expected of a proper gentleman and was trying to play the part. In short, he was capable of fulfilling societal expectations.

That doesn’t mean he never had romantic feelings, but as far as we know, despite the interest some women clearly had in him, none of these romantic fantasies ever became anything more than words on a page.

Note (1) Frankly, the word "historian" is no guarantee of quality research when it comes to the French Revolution).

(2) François-Louis Suleau, a royalist journalist who attended school with Robespierre and Desmoulins, later becoming one of their most vocal critics.

(3) Actes des Apôtres was a royalist newspaper published during the early years of the French Revolution. Founded in 1789 by Jean-Gabriel Peltier and featuring contributors like François-Louis Suleau, the publication served as a satirical and polemical counter-revolutionary voice. It's actually quite funny to read. 

[mythologypaintings]

Pygmalion and his Statue

Artist: Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée (French, 1725–1805)

Date: 1777

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Sinebrychoff Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland

Description

Pygmalion, a sculptor from Amathus on Cyprus, was discouraged by the morals of women and chose to focus on his art. He carved a realistic statue of his ideal woman out of ivory and named her Galatea. Pygmalion prayed to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, to make Galatea come to life. Aphrodite answered his prayers and brought the statue to life. Pygmalion and Galatea married and had a child named Paphos.

[cippicat]

AC characters Modern AU

What kind of jobs would do the assassin's creed characters in the modern days?

Desmond would continue his bartendering.

Layla Hassan would be an architect. She wants to be like Indiana Jones.

Altair would be an historic. He would wrote books about historical facts that people doesn't know.

Malik woulb be a cartographer. He would fly around the world to create accurate maps for his app (let's be real Google Maps sucks).

Maria would be a self defense teacher. She would teach women how to defend themselves.

Ezio, and his brother Federico would work in the family company. Ezio would take care of the franchise around Italy, China and Turkey. His associates (his protèges) abroad are Yusuf Tazim and Shao Jun.

Petruccio would be a vet specialised in birds care.

Claudia would open a fashion agency.

Both Giovanni and Maria Auditore would be retired in Montereggioni (with Uncle Mario).

Edward Kenway would be retired, but when he was young he owned a bar, The Jackdaw, in the heart of London with his best friend Edward Tatch. With his wife, Tessa Kenway (a stay at home mum), they would work as volunteers at the dog rescue center. Edward's ex wife Caroline Scott would live abroad, and work in human resources.

Jennifer Scott would work with Claudia Auditore in the fashion agency. She would open a franchise of Claudia's company in London, and another franchise in New York (much to her brother annoyance).

Haytham Kenway would be an economics teacher at the New York University. His wife Ziio would be a lawyer for the Native American rights. Their son Connor Kenway would be a forest ranger. His parents are starting to ask him for grandchildren.

Aveline de Grandpré and Elise de la Serre would be fashion stylists. Elise had a relationship with Arno but broke up because it didn't work.

Shay Cormac and Liam O'brien would work as seafarers. They would co-operate with Greenpeace. Shay is married with a son he had when he was very young. He named his son after his two godfathers Liam and George Monroe (much to Liam's displeasure). Shay doesn't know yet but he is going to be a grandfather before 50.

Hope Jensen would work as a flying attendant.

Arno Dorian would open a café littéraire near Montmartre. He has a son, Léon. His father Charles Dorian, and his godfather Pierre Bellec would be in politics. They would co-operate with François de la Serre against Germain, and Chevalier (everyone hates Chevalier).

Jacob Frye would open his own pub, The Rooks, with his brother in law. Like Arno he is a single father. Jacob and Arno have friends with benefits friendship. Evie Frye would work at the university library . Their father, Ethan Frye would work as a literature teacher at the Cambridge University. Since he is close to retirement he often spends time playing with his grandson Emmett.

Bayek and his wife Aya would work at the Cairo's museum as curators.

Kassandra, and her brother Alexios would work in their mom's tourism agency in Athens.

Eivor Varinsdottir would work as a freelance photographer around the world, and will publish her photos in some publications in England. Sometimes she will ask Shay a ride on the Morrigan to photograph the whales.

Juno and Minerva would be software engineers. Persephone and her husband Hades would open a funeral parolours. Poseidon would open a swimming school. Jupiter would be retired with Loki and Havi.

[mysharona1987]

Sorry, bro. But this is always what happens when an old billionaire marries a younger, beautiful woman without a pre-nup.

There was an entire Addams family movie about this.

[enlitment]

Rousseau VS Robespierre’s dad in a Worst Father Ever contest?

Asking the right question here. Let the people decide!

Propaganda:

1. François de Robespierre

The epitome of a dead-beat dad

Abandoned his 4 children not long after their mother died in childbirth and never returned

Possibly left the eldest son traumatised by feeling like he has to assume responsibility for his siblings

2. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Had his mistress give up all the 5 children they had together and put them into an orphanage right after giving birth

Said he had 'no other choice' despite the fact that he stayed with the children's mother long after that and eventually ended up marrying her anyway

Didn't agree on having the children adopted by his benefactress instead of giving them to the orphanage

After the first one, he didn't leave the children with a monogram so he could potentially take them back after his material conditions improved

Said that he felt guilty about what he has done but that the real villain of the story were his friends who shared the information with the public

Ended up writing a hugely influential book on how to best raise children and see to their education (later claimed that he 'almost confessed' to the orphanage story in Émile itself though)

[gophergal]

File them under "canon straight couple I'm weirdly obsessed with"

(headcanon rambling under the cut)

Ok I've been thinking about Spy and Scout's Ma SOOOO much. Woe, headcanons be upon ye:

To start with, their names are François Donadieu and Rose Cusack. They never married, but have been in a committed relationship for 23 years as of 1968

François is four years younger than Rose, they met in 1944 when he was 22 and she was 26, while she was working as a waitress.

Spy had been sent to speak with an informant who, unbeknownst to Spy, was going to doublecross him. After giving him bad information, the informant poisoned his coffee when he was distracted, which Rose noticed. Unable to think of anything else, she spilled his coffee on him to prevent François from being killed. When she brought him another mug, she also gave him a note to explain. He took her to dinner afterwards to show his appreciation.

She didn't tell him about her children until their 3rd date, terrified that her being a widow and single mother, with the majority of her children born out of wedlock, would be a major deal breaker. It was, in fact, a bonus, as Spy had always wanted a large family

Spy immediately stepped into a doting father role to her sons, and remained so until Jeremy was around 4. He will freely admit to his beloved that these were the best years of his life

His leaving the family came after a hit was issued on them that he only barely managed to thwart. He and Rose mutually agreed that it would be safest if he kept a distance from his family. François' only contact with them was to send money home, watch from afar in disguise, and occasionally rendezvous with Rose

Bonus Scout related headcanons that are still relevant:

Scout gets his buck teeth and green eyes from Spy (who has had work done on his teeth ((thats even canonical)) and has partial green/hazel heterochromia in both eyes). Rose misses her beau's natural charming smile, and is secretly happy that Jeremy inherited it.

Meetings with Spy leave a very distinct cigarette smell on Rose, which Jeremy recognizes and hates. The idea that some asshole is putting the moves on his ma pisses him off. As such, he hates that scent and Spy by extension (pre-spydad reveal)

Rose is somewhat ditsy and Spy is arrogant. Jeremy was cursed with the dumbest parts of both parents. François is deeply disappointed in this

[freedelusionshere]

Love and Marriage

I don't know if people have already written about this, but Carmy and Syd are portrayed as though they are symbolically married, bound together by this restaurant. The Bear portrays:

Infatuation: the blood hamachi dish. Moments like from films like Casablanca: "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine."

Courtship: the Thom Browne chef jacket

Cheating: Claire (Fatal Attraction, LOL)

Birth: the fire suppression test

Marriage: the partnership agreement, consult your lawyer first!

They have even made a family and created a legacy together (Marcus and Tina).

They are now in the separation stage (irreconcilable differences, or no?).

It reminds me of François Truffaut's movies about Antoine Doinel (400 Blows, Stolen Kisses, Bed and Board, Love on the Run - which also features trains and are semi-autobiographical, btw) and his life through relationships and marriage. I'm also getting some of Kubrick's Eye's Wide Shut in S3 and themes of obsession, frustration, fidelity, and the subconscious.

Personally, I'm hoping things go more like the ending of Eyes Wide Shut.

The Bear is actually a love story and a sex comedy. This show has sex on the brain, it just doesn't show it.

[winterhalters]

K I N G S I D E, a tale of seven kings

first season 1514-1520. Claude and François finally get married, a vacant seat for Mary Tudor, Louise of Savoy's stubborness to keep her son in check. A new King arises, the New Order, François' quest for glory in Italy. Another crown, another campaign.

second season 1522-1530. The inheritance dispute that leads Bourbon to treason. The pursuit of the italian dream, Claude dies, all is lost in Pavia. Süleyman and the unthinkable alliance, captivity in Spain. The Ottoman fleet. Royal depression. The inheritance dispute that led Bourbon to treason. The ladies' peace, Henry VIII flinching, a price for two princes, a New wife for the King.

third season 1531-1537. Louise dies, tensions between François and Marguerite. The wedding of Catherine and Henri. The rise of Pisseleu, the battle at Court between Charles and Henri and their people. War between Diane and Montmorency. Placards and the anti-heterics frenzy, another war in Italy. Wedding and death of Madeleine.

fourth season 1539-1547. Mending tensions between France and Spain. A very stubborn niece. All eyes on Henri and Catherine's sterile womb. Death of Charles. The duel in Jarnac. The King is dead, long live. Diane de Poitier's absolute triumph over Anne de Pisseleu. The Guises make their move.

fifth season 1553-1559. Diane of France's not so typical royal wedding. Catherine giving birth to the twins, Chenonceau goes to Diane, the cordial hate between the two. Rohan VS Nemours. Montmorency mess and a remarriage for Diane of France. The death of Henri, everything falls down.

sixth season 1560-1564. François II barely hanging on, Catherine's almost giving up, Elisabeth married off, the Guise family's counterpower, Montemorency's political exile, the Amboise conspiracy, preparations for the grand tour.

seventh season 1565-1572. The end of the grand tour, encounter between the royal family and Elisabeth, queen of Spain. The rise of Charles IX, a new queen, Marie Touchet and her bastard boys. Catherine's plans to get a match for Marguerite. Rising tensions between Charles and Henri after Jarnac and Montcontour. Marguerite's nuptials amidst tensions and Coligny's attempted murder.

eighth season 1572-1575. Coligny and the Protestant leaders rallying the troops. The Saint Barthelemew Massacre and the promise of Marguerite to never forgive her family. Catherine finds out Anjou's possible involvement. A new king for Poland. Marguerite's toubled married life. Death of Charles IX. Henri's escape from Poland and slow return to France.

nineth season 1581-1584. Catherine's illusions shatter. New King, no heir. Marguerite returns to Paris. Louise shows some spine against the King's favorites. Quarelling with Anjou, tensions with Elizabethan England, Anjou's election and subsequent death and Catherine's anger. The Guise family veering off the road.

tenth season 1585-1589. The mounting war of the three Henris. All eyes on King Henri who has no sons, Catherine's political exile, the slow burning of the last Valois children. Hunting down Marguerite from stronghold to stronghold, ending with her house arrest in Usson. Assassination of the Guise brothers, the death of Catherine, Henri III breaks down in Diane's arms. Marguerite in exile, Diane the only "true" daughter of Catherine's, as she sets out to (successfully) pacify the kingdom on her own.

[sweetoneiros]

Tom Sturridge as François Clicquot in “Widow Clicquot.”

“Compared with Barbe-Nicole, however, it seems François was sensitive and moody, and she must also have noticed immediately the way in which his mother and father coddled him. She soon understood why. He could be cheerful and energized one moment and apparently turn melancholy and despairing the next. This was a side of her husband she would not have expected. Despite the close connections between their families, she had not seen much of him for several years.”

———————

“François's letters home from 1792 to 1794 are filled with patriotic zeal. He had a romantic view of war and was naturally an idealist. He was also apparently prone to illness and more worryingly to depression. Philippe wrote urgent letters to his son in Switzerland, reminding François of his "weak temperament" and history of hernias. In other letters, he begged his son to fight melancholy and eat well. There was a darker side to François's ebullient personality that his parents knew only too well.”

———————

“But even if she did not realize it yet, she and François were essentially mismatched in at least one fundamental way. She had inherited all her father's and Philippe's ruthless pragmatism and keen business instincts. Barbe-Nicole, however, had married a dreamer. And he had his heart set on the wine business.”

———————

[royalty-nobility]

Queen Hortense with Her Second Son, Prince Napoléon Louis

Artist: François Gérard (French, 1770-1837)

Date: 1807

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Royal Collection of The Netherlands, The Hague, Netherlands

Hortense de Beauharnais, Queen Consort of Holland

Hortense Eugénie Cécile Bonaparte (10 April 1783 – 5 October 1837) was Queen of Holland as the wife of King Louis Bonaparte. She was the stepdaughter of Emperor Napoléon I as the daughter of his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais. Hortense later married Napoléon I's brother, Louis, making her Napoleon's sister-in-law. She became queen consort of Holland when Louis was made King of Holland in 1806. She and Louis had three sons: Napoléon-Charles Bonaparte; Napoleon III, Emperor of the French; and Louis II of Holland. She also had an illegitimate son, Charles, Duke of Morny, with her lover, the Comte de Flahaut.

[ancientcharm]

When the Greeks sacked Troy, Aeneas retreated to Mount Ida, carrying his father Anchises on his shoulders and carrying his son Ascanius. His wife Creusa died in flight. He reigned for a time in Ida, then undertook a long voyage across the Mediterranean.

This Trojan hero went through several adventures in which different deities participated including his mother, Venus (Afrodita) . After his father's death in Sicily, a storm blew him astray and washed him onto the shores of Carthage.

Aeneas tells Dido the misfortunes of the Trojan city. Oil on canvas by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin (1815) Louvre, Paris.

With the intervention of the goddess Venus, queen Dido of Carthage fell in love with Aeneas and wanted them to marry, uniting their lineages. But Jupiter opposed it and sent Mercury to warn him that he must continue his journey and fulfill his destiny.

Dido, outraged at being abandoned , cast a curse declaring that her people and the people descended from Aeneas would be enemies. After this, she stabbing herself with a sword on a pyre.

Death of Dido. Oil on canvas by Guercino (1631)

Back in Sicily, Aeneas celebrated great funeral games in memory of his father, who appeared to him to tell him that he must go to Cumae and descend into the underworld. In Cumae, Aeneas succeeded in having the Sibyl open the gates of Hades for him.

There he met the shadow of Dido, but he also saw his father, who in the Elysian Fields revealed to him the glorious destiny of the people he was to found in Italy.

Aeneas and the Cumaean Sibyl. Oil on canvas by François Perrier (1646)

He reached the mouth of the Tiber and finally entered a city called Pallantium on the Palatine Hill. There, after going through several epic situations, he married Lavinia, only daughter of Latinus, king of the Latins, and founded the city of Lavinium, named after his wife.

Aeneas disappeared in the middle of a storm and was taken to Olympus and crowned by his mother Venus. His eldest son Lullius, from whom the Julii descend, founded Alba Longa the hometown of Romulus and Remus.

According to Livy, Lullius is the son of Aeneas and Lavinia, and seems to distinguish him from Ascanius son of Aeneas and Creusa. Silvius, son of Lullius, succeeded him on the throne of Alba Longa. Dionysius of Halicarnassus is the one who says that Silvius was the son of Aeneas and Lavinia, and therefore half-brother of Lulilus (Ascanius)

Years later, Numitor, maternal grandfather of Romulus and Remus and direct descendant of Silvius would be king of Alba Longa

Roman bas-relief, 2nd century: Aeneas lands in Latium leading his son Lullius (Ascanius); the sow identifies the place to found his city : Alba Longa

Over time, coming into contact with civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Romans realized that while everyone else had legends of heroes, epic wars, and several divinities interacting with humans at each event, they only had Mars in their founding story; twins thrown into a river, suckled by a wolf in a cave, adopted by a humble shepherd. And one of the twins ends up dying in a fight with the other.

Romulus and Remus, suckled by the wolf, found by Faustulus on banks of Tiber. Fresco by Giuseppe Cesari (1568-1640)

Augustus commissioned the great Roman poet Virgil to create a epic worthy of Rome, but without annulling its legendary founding history.

Through the Aeneid, Rome acquired a prestigious past; a mystical explanation of the three Punic Wars and the destruction of Carthage. Julia gens obtained a divine origin, giving even more legitimacy to the ruling dynasty. Furthermore, this epic exalts the Roman virtues that Augustus so wanted to restore and impose by law.

According to Roman historians, Augustus' sister Octavia faint from emotion upon hearing Virgil reading the Aeneid.

Virgil Reading the Aeneid to Augustus and Octavia. Neoclassical painting by Jean-Joseph Taillasson, 1787

In the story of the Trojan War as told by Homer, Aeneas appears as a secondary character, after heroes such as the Greek Achilles or the Trojan Hector. Meanwhile Virgil made him a protagonist in an epic that linked the fall of Troy and the founding of Rome.

The Siege of Troy. Oil on canvas by French School ( 17th century)

[charlotte-of-wales]

Happy 41st birthday to Princess Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg!

Born on 18 February 1984, Stephanie Marie Claudine Christine de Lannoy became the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg upon her wedding to Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume in 2012.

Stéphanie was born a part of the Belgian nobility, as the youngest child and fourth daughter of the eight children of Count Philippe de Lannoy and Alix della Faille de Leverghem.

Countess Stéphanie and the Hereditary Grand Duke married in a civil ceremony at the Town Hall, on 19 October 2012. Their religious wedding took place on 20 October 2012 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Luxembourg.

Stéphanie and Guillaume have two sons, Charles (4) and François (1).

On December 2024, during his Christmas message, Stéphanie’s father-in-law Grand Duke Henri announced his plan to abdicate on October 3 2025. As such, she is set to became Grand Duchess of Luxembourg on that date.

[mythologypaintings]

Flora Caressed by Zephyr

Artist: François Gérard (French, 1770-1837)

Date: 1802

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Museum of Grenoble, Grenoble, France

Description

Ovid tells this myth in Book V of the Fasti; Flora herself explains to the poet who she is, what her attributes and accomplishments are, and justifies the games dedicated to her in Rome. Originally, Flora, or Chloris among the Greeks, is a nymph from the Fortunate Isles known for her great beauty. One spring, Zephyr, god of the West Wind, sees her and immediately falls madly in love with her. He pursues her, then ends up kidnapping her and marrying her. Zephyr then offers his wife, who has become a goddess, the "sovereignty of flowers". Flora tells the poet Ovid that she has set herself the mission of classifying all species of flowers, without succeeding because of their number. Linked to the city of Rome, the goddess is offered every year, between the end of April and the beginning of May, sumptuous festivals that end with games: the Floralia . Associated with spring, with flowers of course, with youth and beauty, the cult of Flora in Rome consists more concretely in the protection of the flowering of agricultural plants.

[portrait-paintings]

Madame Récamier

Artist: Jacques-Louis David (French, 1748–1825)

Date: 1800 (Unfinished work)

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

Description

The Portrait of Madame Récamier is a painting by Jacques-Louis David depicting Juliette Récamier seated on a sofa. The painting began in May 1800was deliberately left unfinished by David, when he learned that François Gérard had also been commissioned to do a portrait of the same model.

Painted at the age of 23, Juliette Récamier (née Jeanne Bernard) was the daughter of an advisor to Louis XV I and married the wealthy banker Jacques-Rosé Récamier in 1793 at the age of 15. Renowned for her beauty and wit, she held a salon in her private mansion located at 7 rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin , which was frequented in particular by Germaine de Staël and Benjamin Constant , until 1803 when the government closed it because it was considered a hotbed of opposition to the First Consul.

In an elongated format, the painting represents Juliette Récamier semi-reclining on a chaise longue in a sideways posture, her upper body turned towards the viewer in a twisting movement. Her gaze fixes the painter. She is dressed in a long white antique dress, the bottom of which falls draped on the ground. Her short, curly hair is tied with a wide ribbon, she is barefoot. She is resting on a sofa , her left arm resting on two cushions , the right is resting on her leg. At the foot of the sofa is a stool , to the left of the painting an antique-style candelabra like the rest of the furniture, quite spartan. The painting is not signed.

[artandthebible]

Saint John the Baptist Preaching in the Desert

Artist: Jean Baptiste Henri Deshays (French, 1729–1765)

Date: c. 1758–1764

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States

Description

A precocious talent, Jean-Baptiste Deshays married the daughter of Rococo artist François Boucher and became his protégé. Although best known as a painter of religious subjects, Deshays often employed the soft, highly fluid manner that Boucher used for his amorous “boudoir” pictures. In fact, this work was for a long time believed to be by Boucher. The subject of the painting derives from the Gospel of Matthew: seated before the multitude and with arms dramatically outstretched, John the Baptist warns, “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”