The Marriage Portrait

Accustomed to Eleonora’s strict schedule, Lucrezia’s days at the villa during her postnuptial stay in 1560 feel meandering. She is free to daydream and paint, occasionally joined by Alfonso, though he is usually busy. At one meal, he is called away by a secretary and returns looking stressed. Attempting to fill her wifely duties as Eleonora did with Cosimo, Lucrezia asks if he would like to talk about court, if she can help in any way. Alfonso becomes hostile and interrogates Lucrezia about what she has heard. Despite the rumors she has heard, Lucrezia denies specific knowledge. Alfonso sternly assures her that such matters fall outside her role as his duchess.

Though Lucrezia’s days are leisurely, Alfonso comes to her bed each night. Each time, she thinks of him as someone other than the husband she knows during the day, a water monster come to enact his “nightly ritual” in order to conceive an heir. Lucrezia has learned that feigning enthusiasm in intercourse shortens the duration and that the pain lessens over time. She feels bound and constricted by her role as his wife and knows that the villa’s rewards are temporary. Soon they will need to return to court, where she will meet Alfonso’s family and eventually bear him a child. She thinks of Eleonora’s body, fatigued from so many pregnancies, and wonders if she will survive.

One morning, Lucrezia awakes alone in her chamber. She considers her reflection, noting that she looks well-slept and lively; she wonders whether she might already be pregnant. Emilia interrupts and begins the cosmetic ritual that Eleonora imposed on all her daughters, but Lucrezia stops her. She realizes suddenly that she is her own woman now and asks Emilia to plait her hair and leave it loose. United by a sense of mischief, Lucrezia remarks on her and Emilia’s similarities and asks about her maid’s family. Emilia reveals that her mother is recently deceased but used to work in the palace’s kitchens. She was Lucrezia’s milk-mother, making Emilia her milk-sister.

Lucrezia is amazed to learn of the connection between her and Emilia. Emilia tells Lucrezia that she got her scar from the very incident that resulted in Lucrezia’s removal from the kitchens. After, Sofia would smuggle Lucrezia down to visit, since no one could calm her like Emilia’s mother. Alfonso enters and interrupts, saying he has a surprise for Lucrezia. When he leaves, Emilia begins to gossip about trouble in the Ferrara court. Rumor has it Alfonso’s mother is planning to leave for France in secret, against his wishes, taking her daughters with her. Alfonso has reportedly said he will whip them all if they disobey him, but Lucrezia does not believe this.

Out in the courtyard, Lucrezia finds Alfonso speaking with Baldassare and an emissary. He leads her away from them, seeming unruffled by the alleged trouble at court. Covering her eyes, Alfonso tells her he must return to Ferrara for a few days to attend to urgent business, but he has a surprise for her in the meantime. The surprise is a white mule, a rare creature for Lucrezia to ride. Alfonso leads it around the courtyard, saying it will be an ideal animal to ride when she is pregnant. Watching him gently adjust the mule’s bridle, she cannot believe he would threaten to whip his mother and sisters.

Lucrezia wants to advise Alfonso to offer kindness to his mother and sisters instead of commanding them. She knows that rulers are often judged by the control they exercise over their families. Preoccupied, she only half listens to his plans for her marriage portrait. Across the courtyard, Baldassare is on edge, ordering servants about as they pack for the trip. One small boy drops a box of papers, and Baldassare takes him by the collar, slamming his face violently into the wooden lid. Still on her mule, Lucrezia shouts at Baldassare to stop beating the boy. Pointedly, Baldassare stares directly at her while striking the boy one more time.

Alfonso says nothing about the beating and leads Lucrezia’s mule beyond the courtyard. Shaken, Lucrezia asks her husband if he did not think Baldassare’s use of force was excessive. Smiling strangely, Alfonso remarks that she will make a wonderful mother with such a tender heart. That said, he reminds her never to question Baldassare, especially in front of others, as it is akin to questioning Alfonso himself. He will forgive her only this once. Later in the day, the men depart for Ferrara, and Lucrezia notes how violently Alfonso controls his horse.

While Alfonso is away, Lucrezia sends money to help aid the servant boy’s healing. She wanders the gardens searching for a stone marten and rides her mule. Three days into Alfonso’s absence, Lucrezia is preparing to paint a still life over another portrait of a merman. She hears a sudden, heavy sound, and goes into the courtyard to find a young man (Jacopo) who has collapsed. Lucrezia does not recognize him but notes that he is not dressed like a servant. She calls for help, but nobody is nearby. Completely unconscious, the man seems on the verge of death.

Recalling a foreign dignitary who had a similar fit in Florence and who was revived by honey water, Lucrezia grabs the honeycomb and water from her still life. She speaks to the young man as she tips honey water into his mouth, and he eventually regains consciousness. A second young man appears, amazed that Lucrezia knew what to do, insisting she has saved his life. The man who collapsed is named Jacopo, and his companion is Maurizio. They are apprentices to the artist (Il Bastianino) who will paint the new duchess’s portrait.

According to Maurizio, several apprentices will work on the portrait. Jacopo’s specialty is cloth, while Maurizio does the landscape. They ask Lucrezia about the new duchess, not realizing who she is. They have heard she is beautiful and young but that the Duke keeps her “under lock and key.” Lucrezia asks what Maurizio has heard about Alfonso, and the apprentice describes him as “Janus, with two faces, two personalities.” Lucrezia asks how Jacopo is feeling, but Maurizio informs her his companion is mute. Maurizio asks if they will see her again, and Lucrezia replies that they will.

Lucrezia paints for the rest of the day, lost in her work. Emilia informs her that Alfonso has returned, but he does not send for her until late afternoon. Waiting for him in the salon, Lucrezia is still preoccupied with her art. Alfonso appears in good spirits, pulling her onto his lap. When Lucrezia asks, he tells her the matter at court has been resolved to his satisfaction, as is always the case. Lucrezia is relieved, asking if his mother will stay in Ferrara, as well as his sisters. Alfonso goes quiet, and she realizes she has said too much about things she is not supposed to know. She brushes it off as gossip, and, reluctantly, he changes the subject.

Alfonso examines Lucrezia’s still life and remarks that it is a pleasant pastime for her. Maurizio and Jacopo arrive at the salon, having cleaned up from their journey. Alfonso introduces them, and Lucrezia watches the two apprentices recognize her with shock and fear. They recover quickly, telling Lucrezia they will be making preliminary sketches for her portrait. Alfonso is perturbed by Jacopo’s muteness, seeming to think this might indicate a lesser talent. Maurizio reassures him, and Alfonso insists they begin the sketches right away. Lucrezia looks at Jacopo, whose life she saved, feeling they are somehow tethered to one another.

Over the next two days, the apprentices sketch Lucrezia for her portrait. She hears them bustling about, Jacopo somehow communicating with Maurizio without speaking. She is frequently summoned to pose in the salon, where Alfonso is supervising the men’s progress. Lucrezia finds it difficult to sit still for so long, wishing to saddle her mule or take a walk. Alfonso notices her restlessness and requests that she comport herself with “a little more dignity.” Hearing this conversation, Jacopo seems to come out of his artistic trance, seeing her as a person rather than his subject. He seems to disapprove of Alfonso. Lucrezia feels certain others can feel the silent connection between her and Jacopo.

On the day Lucrezia is to leave for Ferrara, a storm hits the villa. In her chambers, she leans out the window, enjoying the rain on her face. Alfonso enters and is furious at her, demanding she shut the window at once. Though Lucrezia initially thinks he is joking, he grabs her by the wrists and berates her for not taking greater care, considering she may already be pregnant. Lucrezia realizes this marriage is not the equal partnership her parents have. She feels a fiery rage kindling inside her, but she stifles her anger and begs his forgiveness. Alfonso returns to his normal self, no longer “a devil in collar and cuffs,” and tells Emilia to leave. He then starts undressing his wife.

When Alfonso leaves, Lucrezia considers confiding in Emilia about how her husband seems to shift between two different people, but she decides against it. She thinks about Alfonso’s need to triumph and wonders how Maria would have fared in this marriage. Regardless, Lucrezia’s destiny has always been an advantageous marriage, while her brothers were trained to fight and manipulate. She knows Alfonso has these same skills and speculates that he senses her stubborn will and seeks to dominate it. Lucrezia resolves to preserve this willful part of herself, keeping it hidden from him at all costs—this is how she will survive. The next day, they leave the villa for the court in Ferrara.