The Ugly Duchess

 

The Ugly Duchess is a famous portrait completed by Quinten Massys in 1513. She is known to be the inspiration for the characters in Alice in Wonderland. It is said that she was an unfortunate woman with paget's disease that caused her face to be deformed due to her metabolism and the increased growth in bones causing them to become deformed. The portrait was shown in the National Gallery where it was discovered that Massys did not copy Leonardo Davinci in the painting and that the woman actually looked as she is portrayed in the painting. It is notw said that perhaps Leonardo or one of his followers copied Massys instead of the other way around. I think that this portrait is incredibly interesting. There is such a high level of detail the piece can be considered beautiful. Unfortunately for the sitter the reason for my interest is the transgression from human to troll-like creatures, to see in which ways to alter the face to turn it into an original folklore inspired creature. I think that the extension of the bones in the face creates a particularly powerful effect creating distortion in a human face. The proportions are also worth the consideration to understand how they have changed from what one would consider a 'normal' face. I like the realism of this painting, yet its fantasy element which takes the painting into a whole different spectrum. I will use this painting as a brief reference when designing and sculpting my creature, through the direction of wrinkles and various attributes on the face such as the nose and mouth.