Legend "Diana Poitier and her descendants". Diane de Poitiers: the uncrowned queen of Francois Clouet. Ladies toilet. Portrait of Diane de Poitiers

There are many famous figures in history who have long remained in the memory of people because of some of their unsolved mysteries. And the farther they go from us into the depths of history, the more mysterious they seem. Let's try to lift the veil of secrecy a little over the history of Heinrich of Valois and Diane de Poitiers.

Henry II of Valois

Henry of Valois, the future King of France, was born on March 31, 1519. His childhood was overshadowed by a very unpleasant situation: his father, Francis I, lost in a battle with the Spanish king and was taken prisoner. In order to pay off captivity and be able to collect the required amount, the king offered to leave his two sons, seven-year-old Henry and eight-year-old Francis, with the Spaniards. Francis I was returned home, and the princes spent 4 years in captivity. According to some reports, they were treated as befits princes. Others were starved and beaten. In any case, the captivity made an unpleasant indelible impression on the children.

One way or another, but according to rumors, Heinrich forever harbored a grudge against his father. By the way, Diana de Poitiers was among those who saw off the princes to a foreign land. Then, on the occasion of the return of the princes and the remarriage of the king, a feast was arranged. And on this holiday, the young prince again saw the beautiful Diana and fell in love at first sight. The prince was 12 years old, at that time practically a young man, because the age of 13 was considered the age of majority among the French kings! But the beauty, according to the concepts of that time, was already middle-aged, about 30 years old. But her beauty was able to outshine many.

Diane de Poitiers

Diane de Poitiers was born on September 3, 1499 or January 9, 1500. When she was 13 or 15 years old, she was married to Louis de Breze, a friend and peer of her father. The husband was old, gloomy and laconic. But Diana became his faithful wife and gave birth to two daughters. Nevertheless, when Diana appeared at court, the court dandies perked up: everyone thought that the young beauty would certainly choose a lover. But Diana rejected all claims, including those of King Francis I. Only once did she allow herself to ask the king for mercy for her father, who took part in the rebellion.

King Francis could not refuse such a beautiful petitioner, and the rebel was pardoned. At the age of 31, Diana became a widow and put on mourning, black and white colors, which she did not take off until her death. Perhaps these colors just suit her very well. And her beauty remained unfading, which irritated and amazed the envious courtiers a lot. The favorite of Francis I, the Duchess d'Etampes, being 10 years younger, hated Diana, but could not do anything with her, the beauty of her rival and the love of the young prince for her served as a sure defense.

Enduring love

At the age of 14, Henry had to get married. His wife was the notorious Catherine de Medici. The bride adored the handsome groom, but he remained indifferent to her. Which is not surprising: Catherine was never a beauty, fat, clumsy, with bulging eyes. And Heinrich still loved Diana, who was still beautiful, for which she was nicknamed Diana the hunter and sorceress. Some historians believe that for 5 years, from the moment he returned from captivity until the death of his older brother, Henry had only platonic feelings for Diana. Who knows, but in those days, platonic love was not held in high esteem.

Other researchers believe that the romance began even before the wedding of Heinrich and Catherine or immediately after. Maybe you are right. Also, some historians write that Catherine was not only aware of her husband's affair, but also spied on them. However, it was in those years almost in the order of things. Of course, this did not bring her joy. The queen loved her husband all her life and tried in every possible way to attract his attention, but the only thing she succeeded in was giving birth to 10 children for him. And, frankly, not right away.

But the birth of children did not change Henry's attitude either to his wife or to his mistress. Heinrich continued to wear Diana's colors and the DH monogram for Diana/Heinrich, showering her with jewels, gifts, and courtesies. By the way, many of these monograms have survived to this day in many royal castles in France. Parting even for a short time, the king wrote numerous passionate letters to his beloved and consulted with her on all issues. Even at the coronation, Diane de Poitiers was in the foreground, and Catherine de Medici was somewhere in the background.

tragic ending

Queen Catherine hated her rival, but was silent and pretended that everything was in order. Outwardly, they always remained on friendly terms, Diane de Poitiers even raised the royal children. They even say that Henry thought about divorce more than once, but Diane de Poitiers dissuaded him. Everything changed in an instant. On June 30, 1559, the king participated in a jousting tournament, which was then in the order of things. But by accident, a fragment of a spear went deep into his eye. Heinrich was taken from the field, covered in blood.

For several days, doctors tried to save him. At the request of the chief surgeon, the corpses of the executed were brought to him, and he simulated a wound by sticking a stick in their eyes in order to understand how to treat the king. According to other sources, the experimental subjects were required alive, which is more logical. Given the mores of that time, this version cannot be dismissed either. But medicine was powerless. King Henry is dead. Historians believe that the famous physician and mystic Nostradamus predicted misfortune:

The young lion will overcome the old
On the battlefield, one on one.
Gouge out his eye in a golden cage,
And he will die a cruel death.

The queen was inconsolable, but grief did not prevent her from taking away everything presented to her former favorite. Fortunately, revenge did not go further, and Diana retired to her estate.

Diane de Poitiers Mystery

Surprisingly, beauty did not leave Diana even in old age. And this is in an era when women, even from the upper classes, withered by the age of 30!

The beauty herself said that the secret of her youth was simple: she did not use cosmetics, took cold baths in the morning, and then took long horse rides before breakfast. She led, as they would say now, a healthy lifestyle.

Although this is probably not enough to preserve eternal youth. But the famous beauty took her secret with her to the grave. Diana died on April 26, 1566.

And another interesting story about.

FRANCOIS CLUET. Lady's toilet. Portrait of Diane de Poitiers, c. 1571, oil on wood, 92 x 81 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington.

WHAT AN INTERESTING FATE OF A WOMAN IN THIS PORTRAIT.

FRANCOIS CLOUET (1505 - 1572) - French painter and graphic artist of the Renaissance. He was born in 1505. He studied with his father Jean Clouet, whom he helped fulfill orders from his youth and inherited his position as court painter of the king. Official artist of four French kings, court portrait painter of the last representatives of the royal house of Valois.
He became famous mainly as a portrait painter, but he also painted compositional paintings, designed court festivities, removed death masks: Francis I, Dauphin, Henry II.

ABOUT PICTURE.

Parted red draperies reveal a room where a naked woman sits in a bathtub with a carnation in her hand. In front of her is a vase of fruit, to which a boy is reaching, a laughing nurse holds the breasts of a swaddled baby, in the distance a maid by the fireplace raises a heavy vessel. The face of a tanned nurse, the plump hand of a child, a fringe on the heavy and brittle silk of the curtain, a small frill of a blue velvet cap on the head of a bather, a carefully “circumcised” fireplace decor, a picture on the wall, an ajar window shutter with a barred frame, glaring metal
vessel, - everything seems to be ordinary-specific and resembles an everyday scene.

Everything - except for the bather herself, paganly beautiful in her nakedness and at the same time devoid of any shade of sensuality. The impeccable regularity of facial features is akin to ancient sculpture. The cold dispassionateness of the marble statue, with which she demonstrates the perfection of her forms, gives rise to that measure of alienation and even, one might say, arrogance, which is incompatible with the concept of everyday genre. The heroes of Clouet are not looking for the gaze of the viewer - something else, invisible to us, attracts them, and the viewer is only an outside observer, he is not allowed to participate in what is happening.

ABOUT THE WOMAN IN THE PORTRAIT.

It is believed that the painting depicts Diane de Poitiers. (1499 - 1566) back in 1538, the thirty-nine-year-old beautiful widow Diana captivated the nineteen-year-old heir to the throne, Henry of Orleans, which eventually allowed her to become an extremely influential person, and also (according to many) the true ruler of the state.

Becoming king, he gave his beloved the castle of Chenonceau. This showed everyone that Diana completely took the place of Catherine de Medici, who, in turn, was forced to endure her husband's beloved.

Having come to power, Henry II allowed his beloved to exercise complete control over the affairs of the kingdom. As the historian Guy Chaussinan Nogaret notes, never in the history of the monarchy has any favorite been able to achieve such an absolute and effective influence on the person of the king, and even more so to convince foreign sovereigns of her omnipotence. The ambassadors addressed their correspondence to her, and she corresponded with the Pope himself. The king did nothing without consulting her.

THE MOST IMPORTANT ABOUT HER UNFADING BEAUTY.

The age difference between Diana and Henry was 20 years old, he was 19, and she was 39. At her sixty years old, Diana de Poitiers was surprisingly pretty and looked no older than a thirty-year-old young woman. Brant, who saw her shortly before her death, assured that she is still beautiful.

FIND OF SCIENTISTS.

Diana de Poitiers died on April 26, 1566 at the age of 66 in the French city of Anet. The body of the former favorite of the king was embalmed, placed in a lead sarcophagus and buried in the tomb of the city cathedral. In 1789, a revolution was raging in France. The rebellious mob unceremoniously treated the remains of Diane de Poitiers. Her burial was ruined, and her body was thrown into a common grave near the walls of the cathedral.

In 2009, the remains of Diane de Poitiers were removed from the mass grave, thanks to modern technology, scientists were able to identify them with great accuracy. Recently, pathologist Philippe Charlier of the Paris Hospital Association and toxicologist Joel Poupon published their findings in the British Medical Journal. Scientists have studied the hair and bones of Diane de Poitiers. It turned out that the gold content in them was exceeded by 250 (!) times. How to explain such a high content of the precious metal? Scientists suggest that during her lifetime, Diana regularly drank a certain drink that contained particles of gold.

It is the use of a miraculous drink that scientists are trying to explain the unfading beauty of Diane de Poitiers. Perhaps it was prepared especially for Diana by alchemists who considered gold a noble metal - a source of youth and beauty. According to the surviving testimonies of contemporaries, Diana always had a very bright face, and a few months before her death, it literally turned white. Modern scientists suggest that this could happen due to the poisoning of the woman's body with gold. This is the version of scientists of the beginning of the XXI century.

Previously, the beauty of Diane de Poitiers was attributed to a healthy lifestyle and proper daily routine. At the court of the French king, they even whispered that she had sold her soul to the devil in exchange for eternal youth.

... A thin face, a Greek profile, jet-black hair and eyes filled with compassion. Seven-year-old Henry of Orleans remembered this lady for the rest of his life. She was the only one who tried to console them with her brother before a long separation from her family.
The fact is that in the spring of 1524, their father, the French king Francis I, having experienced the bitterness of defeat at Pavia, being himself twice wounded, was captured by the Spaniards. To gain freedom, he had to give hostage to his sons - Dauphin Francis and his brother Henry, Duke of Orleans. That is why, on March 17, 1526, the entire French court gathered on the banks of the Bidasson River, more precisely, in boats in the middle of the river, where the ceremony of handing over the hostage princes was to take place. And it never occurred to anyone to feel sorry for the poor children, the little princes who were sent from their home to Spanish captivity. Heinrich suffered more than his brother, because he was younger, he was not even seven years old. And only this lady came up to him and kissed him, comforting him. It was the first kiss given to the future King Henry II by Diana de Poitiers. She was then twenty-seven.

After the death of his spouse, the great seneschal
Normandy, Louis de Brize, almost viceroy of the most significant province of the French kingdom, Diana at the age of 31 became a widow and wore black and white clothes, and her heraldic emblems were decorated with an inverted torch, a sign of inconsolable widowhood.
The black and white colors were repeated in the architectural elements of her castle, right down to the leash of her beloved dog. Probably, this style of hers was formed not without the influence of her respected husband, who had considerable life experience (he was 40 years older than her).
Despite the incredible age difference even for those times, the couple lived in perfect harmony. From the marriage of Diana and Louis de Brese, two daughters were born.

Little Heinrich remembered the kiss and the charming lady for the rest of his life.
Returning to France as a gloomy teenager, Henry again admired Diana.
It seemed that time had no power over her. And subsequently, she retained her beauty much longer than all imaginable limits. As time passed, her face became more and more charming. This could not but cause surprise, and in those days it was easy to assume that she gave her soul to the devil in exchange for eternal youth. Today we can explain this by a healthy lifestyle: she got up at 6 o'clock in the morning, took a cold bath, sometimes with ice, and then for three hours, in any weather, she arranged a ride for herself. Returning, after a light breakfast, she basked in bed with a book in her hands. She almost did not use cosmetics, believing that the freshness of her skin could fade from it.
which she had a naturally pleasant color.

Young ladies at the court of the king sought to imitate Diana, copying her hairstyle, gestures, gait. It was almost universally agreed that she was the epitome of beauty.
And the standard was:

Three things should be white: skin, teeth, hands;
three - black: eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes;
three red: lips, cheeks, nails;
three - long: body, hair, fingers;
three short: teeth, ears, feet;
three - narrow: mouth, waist, ankles;
three full: arms, thighs, calves;
three - small: nose, chest, head.

Diana was kind, knew how to find and invent joys and entertainment. She had an extraordinary mind. And she knew how to weave intrigues with such subtlety that their results looked quite natural.

Once, Francis I complained to Diana about the silence and isolation of his youngest son.
Heinrich by that time was already fourteen years old. The king grumbled:
- He spends all the time alone, communicates little with the courtiers.
And the young man zealously improved in possession of a sword, was a good rider, but he never smiled. Four years spent in captivity in Spain made the boy withdrawn. What is there to be surprised! Diana reassured the king:
- Trust him to me, and I will make him my knight!
Of course, she talked about selfless love for a lady, about the passion of the mind, not feelings, because she was 20 years older than him.
Diana, being a lady close to the court, from time to time gave wise worldly advice to the Dauphin Henry. The Dauphin trusted her endlessly, fascinated by her intelligence, devotion and beauty.

In 1533, Prince Henry of Orleans (aged 14) married Catherine de Medici.
Naturally, it was a dynastic union. Catherine de Medici was the niece of Pope Clement the 7th, and a considerable dowry was promised to her (Clement? th died without fulfilling his promise about the dowry of his niece). And although she possessed charm and grace, the prince did not love his wife: for him there was no other woman except Diana, and he did his best to achieve her reciprocal feeling. The love affair between Heinrich and Diana began when he was 19 years old, Diana was approaching her fortieth birthday.
Catherine did not roll up scenes, realizing how much she could lose.
She stocked up on patience and waited, maintaining a good relationship with her rival.
Diana, on the other hand, forced Henry to spend time with his lawful wife.

After becoming king, Henry spent most of his free time with Diana.
Once the queen decided to spy on what these two were doing, why her husband was so attached to this lady. She saw a love game, not on the couch, on the floor.

At the royal court there were many doctors, alchemists and soothsayers, who were patronized by the queen. One of them was the famous Michel Nostradamus, who predicted Henry II's death during the tournament. Another astrologer, Luke Gorik, even named the time of the death of the king. Queen Catherine asked King Henry to cancel all tournaments or not to participate in them, but Henry did not believe the predictions. And in 1559, at the age of 41 (it was this age that predictors indicated), he went to battle on spears with the Earl of Montgomery. The count refused the dangerous honor, but the king insisted. In a clash, the count broke the royal spear, and a piece of it hit Henry in the eye.

Diane de Poitiers' "reign" ended in 1559 when Henry II was accidentally killed in a tournament by the Comte de Montgomery.
Michel Nostradamus predicted Heinrich II's death during the tournament.
Another astrologer, Luke Gorik, even named the time of the death of the king. Queen Catherine asked King Henry to cancel all tournaments or not to participate in them, but Henry did not believe the predictions. And in 1559, at the age of 41 (it was this age that predictors indicated), he went to battle on spears with the Earl of Montgomery. The count refused the dangerous honor, but the king insisted. In a clash, the count broke the royal spear, and a piece of it hit Henry in the eye.
The king died 11 days later, forbidding the persecution of Michel Nostradamus.

The king was still alive when Queen Catherine de Medici, showing weakness, ordered Diana to leave Paris, giving up all the jewels given to her by Henry. It was an ancient tradition: with the death of the king, all his entourage (including mother, wife, children ...) returned the jewels that belonged to the royal treasury. Diane de Poitiers gave a very worthy answer: "... as long as I have a master, I want my enemies to know: even when there is no king, I will not be afraid of anyone." Diana returned the jewelry box only the day after the death of Henry II. Diane de Poitiers retired to her castle of Anet, where she died at the age of sixty-seven, remaining the owner of amazing beauty until her death.

Diane de Poitiers
(3.9. 1499 - 22.4.1566)

Reviews

Recipe for longevity:

Find time to laugh. This is the music of the soul.
Find time to think. This is the source of strength.
Find time to be playful. It is the source of inexhaustible youth.
Find time to read. This is the fountain of wisdom.
Find time to dream. It is the greatest power on earth.
Find time to love and be loved. This is your privilege and your gift.
Find time to be friendly. This is the road to happiness.
Find time to give. Life is too short to be selfish.
Find time to work. This is the price of your success.
Believe in yourself and act! After all, you deserve it.

"Movement as such can, in its action, replace any medical remedy, but all the medical remedies of the world cannot replace the action of movement."
Tissot, 8th century French physician.

According to the surviving testimonies of contemporaries, Diana always had a very bright face, and a few months before her death, it literally turned white. Modern scientists suggest that this could happen due to the poisoning of the woman's body with gold. This is the version of scientists of the beginning of the XXI century.

Last duel

Diana waited with fear for the onset of 1559 - astrologers
predicted her lover "a blow at the age of 40."
She, like Catherine de Medici, was superstitious.

In 1552, the predictions of the famous astrologer, Bishop Gorik of Cittadukale, were published in Venice. While still a dauphine, Catherine asked her husband, Prince Henry, to draw a horoscope. The astrologer recommended Heinrich to be especially careful when he was forty years old, because it was at that time that he would be threatened with a serious wound in the head.
Catherine was very superstitious, as, indeed, Diana. They made amulets, amulets, Catherine constantly prayed for the health of the king, but the king himself carelessly dismissed her warnings.
On June 28, 1559, celebrations began on the occasion of the betrothal of the King's sister Margaret of France, so they decided to arrange a five-day tournament. The king announced that he was ready to fight with any opponent, whether it be a blue-blooded prince, a knight-errant or his squire.

For the first two days, the king fought tirelessly with everyone who wished, he was greeted with cries of delight, and Queen Catherine and Duchess Valentinois, who were sitting next to him, looked at him from the royal tribune.
On the morning of June 30, Henry decided to fight the young Count Gabriel Montgomery. At night, Catherine had a terrible dream: the king with a bloody head lies lifeless ... She tried to keep her husband, but he did not want to give up his favorite pastime. Everyone knew that he fought fearlessly ... At noon he went out to fight. The clothes of the monarch were, as usual, two-tone, black and white, these were the colors of Diana. The horse that the Duke of Savoy gave him was called the Unfortunate. The riders crossed their spears, but even after three fights the outcome remained unclear. According to the rules, the tournament had to be completed, but the king demanded one more duel. This was a violation of tradition, but Heinrich shouted that he intended to win back at all costs.

The herald's horn blew, and the knights rushed into battle. As expected, the opponents collided at full gallop, trying to knock each other off their horses with heavy spears. The blows hit the chest, shoulders and even the face, but all this was reliably protected by armor, and the spears were specially blunted, so there were practically no deaths in the tournaments. Having withstood fights with the Dukes of Savoy and de Guise, the king wished to fight a new enemy and ordered the 30-year-old Scottish captain Gabriel Montgomery to take up a fighting position. At this time, the servant conveyed to him the request of his wife: out of love for her, stop the dangerous game. "Tell the queen that for the love of her, I will win this duel!" exclaimed the king. Hearing this, the queen turned pale: she remembered the prediction of the astrologer Gorik, who threatened the king with death from a head wound at the age of forty-one. Heinrich was forty years old exactly three months ago. In another prophecy of a certain Nostradamus, it was said that a young lion would gouge out the eye of an old one in a golden cage, and the royal helmet was just gilded ... Heinrich heard these predictions, but now he forgot about them. Why be careful when so many beautiful ladies look at you! And above all, the one under whose sign his whole life passed - Diane de Poitiers. Not without reason at the tournament he wore her colors - white and black.

Emblems of Henry II and Diane de Poitiers

The opponents collided, and a many-voiced cry swept over the tournament field. From the blow that landed in the face, the king's visor opened and the spear entered his right eye. Heinrich, covered in blood, rushed another 10-15 meters and slid off his horse into the hands of the courtiers who surrounded him. "I'm dying," he whispered. All eyes were fixed on him, and no one noticed the other participants in the game, which suddenly turned into a tragedy. Taking advantage of this, Captain Montgomery turned his horse around and rushed at full gallop to his castle Lorge, hoping to later be justified. This did not help - five years later he was lured to Paris and beheaded, never believing that the fatal blow was inflicted by accident.

While Henry was being dragged on a stretcher to the nearby castle of Tournelle, the queen lay in a swoon.

Diana did not lose consciousness: she simply stood and watched as her lover was carried past.

Recovering herself, Catherine rushed to the castle and first of all ordered not to let her rival go there. Then she called the famous surgeon Ambroise Pare and asked him to do everything to save the king. Aesculapius examined the wound and made a disappointing conclusion: the spear struck the brain, where fragments of bones fell. There was no hope. Hearing this, the queen sent a messenger to Diana, who retired to the castle of Anet. She demanded that the favorite return all the valuables and possessions given to her by the king. Oddly enough, she agreed. In a response letter, she wrote: "My sorrow is so great that no oppression and resentment can distract me from it." On July 10, Henry died after a long agony, and on the same day Catherine received a heavy chest of jewels and the keys to the magnificent castle of Chenonceau. All the rest of Diana's property was preserved, with one condition - never to appear at court.

After a little reflection, Catherine showed generosity by giving the castle of Chaumont-sur-Loire in exchange for Chenonceau, but she remained in Chaumont for only a short time. As a memory of Diana's stay in the castle, her room and emblem, made up of a horn, a bow and a quiver with her initials, remained.

Fate gave her seven more years of life.
She lived, of course, in solitude, but on a grand scale, building chapels and organizing charitable shelters. Her name was touched only once in connection with the accusation of the royal prosecutor, who opened a case regarding the large sums she hid from taxation.

The private chapel of Chateau d'Anet seen from the second floor. Photo: JH.

The case did not end with anything, since the mother-in-law of the Dukes d'Omal and Bouillon was guaranteed from trial. No one has been able to shake her greatness.

Brantome, who visited Diana in the castle of Anet a year before his death, wrote with admiration: “Her beauty is such that even a stone heart would touch ... I think that if this lady had lived another hundred years, she would not have aged in the slightest. , so beautiful it is, nor the body, which, undoubtedly, is no less beautiful, although hidden under clothes. It is a pity that such a body will still be buried in the earth. It happened on an early April morning in 1566. Diane de Poitiers died in her sleep, smiling, as happens with happy people. In the church of Ane, a monument of white marble was erected to her, like a real ancient goddess. It still stands, and for the fifth century in a row, lovers bring two white roses to it - one from themselves, the other from Heinrich, who remembered his Beautiful Lady while he could breathe. It is no coincidence that he once wrote Diana truly prophetic lines: "My love will protect you from time and from death itself."

Diane de Poitiers died in April 1566, having briefly outlived her lover.
Of course, not from illness and not from old age. The cause of her death is believed to be a fall from a horse.
Well, a fitting death for a hunting goddess.

She was sixty six years old. Has she grown old? Think,
that King Henry II would have answered this question in the negative.

For almost thirteen years she was the uncrowned Queen of France. Court flatterers sang this middle-aged woman as an ideal of goodness and beauty. She really was beautiful and, in addition, power-hungry, wise and prudent. But all this, as happens in history, was forgotten,
only the legend of love remains

________________________________________ ________________________________________ ___

Beauty secrets.

For twenty-nine years - until the death of Henry II - she kept his love. She was eighteen years older than the prince, but she was smart, distinguished by cunning and, most importantly, by the amazing beauty that she managed to keep for her whole life. She had regular features, a beautiful complexion, jet-black hair - she surpassed the young ladies-in-waiting with her beauty. Evil tongues said that the secret of her beauty lies in witchcraft potions, but in fact it was much simpler: she got up every day at six in the morning, took an ice bath and hunted a horse for several hours, accompanied by her hounds or walked. In addition, she liked to take baths from goat's milk. Powders, lipsticks and blush, so popular among girls at that time, she invariably avoided, rightly believing that they only spoil the skin.

Diana was very skilled in the use of fragrances. She wrote to her eldest daughter in 1549: “The fragrance of rose oil or other day flowers is not good after sunset, because it seems out of place. In the evening, the aroma of jasmine is good, and the aroma of musk is in the moonlight ... "

In addition, she made it a rule never and under no circumstances to worry, not to love anyone and not to sympathize with anything. She became the ideal of beauty, all the girls copied her walk and gestures. Her criteria for beauty were a model that women aspired to approach even for many years after Diana's death:

Three things should be white: skin, teeth, hands.
Three are black: eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes.
Three are red: lips, cheeks, nails.
Three are long: body, hair, fingers.
Three are short: teeth, ears, feet.
Three - narrow: mouth, waist, ankles.
Three - full: arms, hips, calves.
Three are small: nose, chest, head.

These were the ideals of Diane de Poitiers, to which all women aspired.

At 6 am Diana took a cold bath, until 8 she had a ride. Then she lay down to rest. until noon basked in bed, ate a light breakfast. She preferred to deal with matters of national importance in the afternoon. Diana denied herself such joy as alcohol, even in minimal quantities: she believed, not without reason, that her face swelled from wine. But the main secret of her beauty, according to her, was that she never thought about old age.

Fragonard Alexandre-Evariste (1780-1850). Diane de Poitiers dans l "atelier de Jean Goujon

Jean Goujon. Statue for the fountain of the castle in Anet. Marble. 1558-1559 Paris, Louvre.

Pedigree of Diane de Poitiers

It is assumed that the emblems of Henry II and Diane de Poitiers are depicted on the mantel.

Gravestone of Diane de Poitiers

Tombstone of Henry II depicting Diane de Poitiers

Philip Erlanger. Diane de Poitiers

Fontainebleau Castle after Francis I passed into the hands of his son Henry II. Heinrich continued the building and decoration begun by his father and Fontainebleau purchased a ballroom designed by Philibert Delorme and painted by Primaticcio and then, after his death, by Niccolò del Abbate. The hall was used for celebrations until King Louis 13th, and then again in the 19th century. It is also very good and resembles the gallery of Francis with a combination of wood and frescoes, harmonious and pleasing to the eye.
This hall has seen so many bright historical characters for almost 600 years that few can compete with it.

On the side panel you can see the monogram of Diane de Poitiers - three crescents.

Hall in the painting depicting Empress Eugenia receiving ambassadors.

The monumental fireplace at the end of the hall (there was a time when the fireplace, as a source of heat, was in a place of honor!) is decorated with bronze satyrs on the sides, and in the middle - the letter H, braided with branches that resemble Heinrich's monogram in their shape. You can see it well in the Louvre.

Heinrich assured his wife, Catherine de Medici, that her capital letter C was forever intertwined with his capital letter, but everyone knew that in fact the monogram was intertwined H and D, Henry and Diana. Since the life of the king until his death was connected with Diane de Poitiers, so much so that they often even signed documents together.
This intelligent woman (who said that all blondes are devoid of intelligence!) managed to create a myth around herself. She was considered pious and kind, although she was good at housekeeping and counting money and shared a bed with the king.
Diane de Poitiers was born on January 9, 1500, according to Wikipedia on September 3, 1499, to Jean Saint-Vallier. Her mother came from the Poitiers family, which was rightfully proud of its family tree. At fifteen, Diana became the wife of the Seneschal of Normandy, Louis de Brese, who was forty-one years older. Diana in her youth was drawn by the famous Clouet, apparently similar. In this portrait, she is not yet very formed.

From the marriage of Diana and Louis de Brese, two daughters were born, history says that they lived in harmony, although the difference in years was 41 years, it is possible that an experienced husband taught his young wife a lot, which was useful to her later in life.
She received a good upbringing in her family, read Greek and Latin, wrote poetry, and the secrets of her eternal youth were of interest to many, the legend reported that Diana drank liquid gold.
Diana came to the court of Francis the First and further history was silent about whether she was the mistress of the king father or not. The fact that Francis pardoned Diana's father, who was sentenced to death, could be evidence of the price his life was bought, but Francis ordered a portrait of her with the inscription "Inaccessible to seduction" to the court painter.
Diana adorned the royal court with herself, Francis was quickly comforted by the Duchess D. Etampes, years passed, it seemed she was getting old and the time to be a favorite was lost, but the king's son was growing up.
In 1525, two royal sons were escorted into Spanish captivity by the entire court at the border river of Bidassoa. Francis had previously lost the battle of Pavia and was forced to hand over his children as hostages for his release. Six-year-old Heinrich and eight-year-old Dauphin Francois, still small children, were separated from their native places and people. At parting, Diane de Poitiers imprinted an innocent kiss on the forehead of little Heinrich, taking pity on the crying boy, at that moment she was in the prime of her feminine beauty. Heinrich recalled the image of Diana in a foreign land, when in 1530 he returned to France, Diana did not seem older to him, she was the lady of his heart, and he was her faithful knight. The history of the relationship between Henry and Diana resembles a chivalric romance. Don Quixote's homeland influenced Henry! In addition, their tutor was nearby, who replaced her mother who died early, Madame de Chevigny, who loved chivalric romances. Heinrich was carried away by the novel "Amadis of Gaul" by Garey Ordoñez de Montalvo. In the novel, the hero Amadis, who was 12 years old, met an eternally young maiden who replaced both his mother and his mistress. Diana merged with the heroine of the novel, she was the best suited for the role of an experienced mentor and a skilled lover.

On March 15, 1531, at the knightly tournament arranged by Francis in honor of the second wife of Eleanor of Austria, Henry bowed his spear to Diana, this was his first tournament, and called Diana his beautiful lady. In the same year, the seneschal died, Diana sincerely mourned him, personally posed for the sculptor for the figure of a kneeling widow on the tombstone, dressed in black and white as a sign of mourning. Young Heinrich began to wear black and white feathers on his hat as a sign of commitment to his lady. And he wore black and white all his life.

On October 28, 1533, fourteen-year-old Henry was married to Catherine de Medici. Nobody asked Heinrich's opinion, marriages were made for other reasons. Heinrich was not up to his wife, although she was much younger than Diana, the same age as her husband. Catherine was not ugly, she was smart and educated, but Heinrich already loved another.
Three years later Henry's older brother died of a fever and Henry became heir to the French throne. Historians believe that it was then that Diana became the mistress of the future king, in November 1536.
The king dedicated poems to her, in which he unequivocally admitted that it was she who made up his happiness:
"Alas, my God, how I regret
On time lost in youth:
How many times have I dreamed
To make Diana mine
the only mistress
But he feared that she, being a goddess,
Won't sink so low
To notice me
who without it
I did not know any pleasures or joys ...

At this time, Diana was already about forty, but she still looked beautiful and there were rumors at court that for good reason. They called her a sorceress behind her eyes and thought that she knew the secret of some ointments and remedies, especially the favorite of Francis, Duchess D, Etamp, who considered herself the first beauty, was furious. It was she who distributed a pamphlet among the courtiers, in which it was written: "Let the lady from Poitiers know: it is not given to women to be reborn, because those whom time has chosen to use, along with time, go out of use. Painted bait does not attract game, and even If you bought everything a woman needs, you would not get what you want from your lover, because for love you have to be alive, and you are dead. This slightly tongue-tied text did nothing to damage Diana's reputation because she looked no older than the duchess, not at all a painted doll. Diana led a healthy lifestyle, jumped through the fields and did not age.
Needless to say, how the future queen hated her. She later wrote to her daughter: "I received Madame de Valentinois cordially, for the king forced me to do so, and at the same time I always made her feel that I was doing so to my greatest regret, for never a wife who loved her husband loved his whore , otherwise you can’t call it, no matter how painful it is for persons in our position to pronounce such words.
By that time, Diane de Poitiers received from the king of the estate, the opportunity to collect taxes and became Madame Valentinois.
The queen was even going to splash nitric acid in her opponent's face to disfigure her.
And Diana, with her advice, managed to establish a royal intimate life. Catherine could not give birth to an heir, the healers offered miraculous remedies in the form of the ashes of a burnt frog, mule urine, hare blood mixed with an extract from the rear left paw soaked in vinegar. Nothing helped. The instructions of an experienced favorite helped, for which Henry presented her with a large award "for the good and useful services rendered earlier to the queen."
Catherine safely gave birth to heirs, but did not forgive the humiliation, for 13 years she was the second woman in the state after Diana. Diana was present at the birth of her children, she chose the nurses herself. The king consulted with her on all matters.
Fortunately for curious descendants, the legendary favorite of the king loved to pose and even liked to pose in the nude, as for intimate portraits that were common at that time, if now a man wears his love topless in a purse to cheer up, then why are kings worse! And Diana was the muse of these places. Named after the goddess of the hunt and the moon, Diana, she was the perfect fit to be the "nymph of Fontainebleau." In addition, from her youth she loved to swim in ice springs, ride a horse, in general, she fully complied.

The artists Primaticcio and Rosso, and then, who joined them, discharged from Bologna, Abbato, created the Fontainebleau School. By the way, there were two of them, the second one existed a hundred years later with Flemish artists.
The works of the first School were characterized by mannerism, grace, appeal to ancient subjects, allegories, as well as the presence of nature in many paintings, after all, the castle was a country residence.
Diana was present on many canvases, both in allegorical form, as Diana the Huntress, the goddess with a bow. Like the nymph on the sculpture of Goujon, which is in the Louvre. And there were just her portraits.

In the portrait, you can see allegorical figures, in a loving embrace, symbolizing the king and Diana.

This one captured her in the bath next to his daughters. One is in the nurse's arms, the other reaches for fruit.

Jean Goujon. Diana is a hunter.

Diana loved to pose in the garden among the flowers. In Chenonceau, by her decree, a marvelous "Garden of Delights" was laid out, where rare varieties of apples, peaches, and plums grew. In the center of the garden was "Diana's Flower Garden", where the king's white lilies and scarlet roses grew, which the hostess considered her talisman, the flower of love.

Unfortunately, the portraits are silent and we cannot see how she moved, hear how she spoke. Most likely, in addition to beauty, intelligence and charm adorned her. In the castle of Chenonceau, I saw her painting, the firm hand of a self-confident woman, otherwise she could not have held on to the role of the first lady for so many years.
Heinrich used to cheat on her, but no one stayed close to him for a long time.
Diana's love and dominion ended on June 30, 1559, with the death of the king. I must say that Catherine was made a horoscope of her future husband and predicted a head wound at the age of forty. The predictions of the famous astrologer Cittadoukale Gorik, a bishop, were published in 1552 in Venice.
On June 28, 1559, celebrations began on the occasion of the betrothal of the King's sister Margaret of France, so they decided to arrange a five-day tournament. The king announced that he was ready to fight with any opponent, whether it be a blue-blooded prince, a knight-errant or his squire.
For the first two days, the king fought tirelessly with everyone who wished, he was greeted with cries of delight, and Queen Catherine and Duchess Valentinois, who were sitting next to him, looked at him from the royal tribune.
On the morning of June 30, Henry decided to fight the young Count Gabriel Montgomery. Catherine had a dream the night before the duel: she saw the king dead with a bloody head. In vain she tried to keep her husband, at noon he went out to fight. The clothes of the monarch were, as usual, two-tone, black and white, these were the colors of Diana. The horse that the Duke of Savoy gave him was called the Unfortunate. The riders crossed their spears, but even after three fights the outcome remained unclear. According to the rules, the tournament had to be completed, but the king demanded one more duel. This was a violation of tradition, but Heinrich shouted that he intended to win back at all costs.
He spurred his horse and rushed at the enemy. The spears crossed and scattered. The king fell. The tip of Montgomery's spear pierced his head, it hit just in the eye slit of the king's helmet.
Montgomery fled in horror, but was then lured to Paris and killed.

Diana immediately lost her locks and ornaments and went to live in the castle of Anet, where she died at the age of sixty-five.
Before her death, Brant visited her, expecting to see the old woman. However, when she turned to him, he saw the beautiful woman again. Branthom wrote "Her beauty is such that even a stone heart would be touched ... I think that if this lady lived another hundred years, she would not have aged in the least, neither in her face, it is so beautiful, nor in her body, which is undoubtedly no less beautiful, although it is hidden under clothes. It is a pity that such a body will still be buried in the earth. "