Gabrielle d'Estrees and One of Her Sisters

Perhaps one of the strangest artifacts exhibited in the Louvre Museum is ‘’Gabrielle d’Estrées and her sister’’, which shows two women sitting in a bathtub behind red curtains. Despite their distant posture and cold gaze, the woman on the left is pinching the nipple of the woman on the right. This unusual image arouses curiosity in art lovers. Even though the painter is unknown and it cannot be dated in exact, we can identify one of the women; Gabrielle d’Estrees. She was a mistress, confidante and adviser of Henry IV of France. So why was a woman, who was inside the court, the main character of such an obscene painting?

Gabrielle was born in Touraine in 1573 and her father Antoine d'Estrees was a marquis of Cœuvres. She was a religious Catholic, even in 1593 she persuaded Henry to disclaim Protestantism in favour of Catholicism. 

In November of 1590, Gabrielle came to the court and in a short time she attracted the King’s attention. These days, Henry was in struggle with the Catholic League, despite this his love life was very vivid. Eventually, she became one of his mistresses while he married Margaret of Valois. Although he was married, Henry and Gabrielle were openly in love with each other in public. They were not afraid to show their forbidden relation. On the other hand, Gabrielle’s father Antoine was worried for his daughter. Although being the mistress of the king gave some privileges in the court, there were also disadvantages as well. Antoine decided to save Gabrielle from such a dangerous entanglement, thus he married her daughter to Nicholas d'Amerval who is a feudal lord of Liancourt, but this did not help to prevent Henry and Gabrielle’s love.

Gabrielle always stayed loyal to Henry. She accompanied him during his campaigns. Moreover, she insisted on living inside his tent near the battlefield just because making sure his welfare even though she was pregnant. Besides that, Henry trusted her and her thoughts as well, since Gabrielle was an intelligent woman Henry told his secrets to her and got her opinion. Their relationship was deep and strong when they were apart, lovers corresponded. Henry frequently wrote to her, when he was on duty. 

The year 1593 passed happily for Gabrielle. On 25 July 1593, Henry renounced Protestantism and it led to be crowned him as a King of France. In this way, the Religious Wars ended. As a Catholic woman, Gabrielle’s effect on Henry’s this decision was undeniable. Besides that, Henry arranged for Gabrielle's marriage to Liancourt to be annulled the same year. 

In 1594, their first child was born, he would be future duke of Vendome, on 4 January, Henry IV legitimized his son in a text validated by the Parlement de Paris, also he recognized Gabrielle d'Estrées as the mother of his son, in other words , Parlement de Paris officially confirmed Gabrielle's position as his mistress. Besides that, she became marquise of Monceaux and Duchess of Beaufort. These years, life wouldn’t be more beautiful than this for Gabrielle. 

Since she had many friends amongst the various Catholic League families, Henry made her his diplomat in order to bring peace. Besides that, he gave many gifts to them. Both Gabrielle and his sister Catherine received a series of gold keys from Henry, which granted them seats on his council. Gabrielle was so delighted by this gift that she began wearing the little keys on a chain around her neck.Despite her successful moves, she was not supported by the people or the palace, except for the king. Her extravagant demeanor, the money she spent for her jewelry contrasted with the king's humble stance. On the other hand, the rumors that she was deceiving the King and the fact that she had four illegitimate children from the King caused her to be called "the woman who desecrated the French".

In 1599, Henry gave his mistress his coronation ring after petitioning Pope Clement VIII for an annulment of his marriage and permission to remarry. But, she had an eclampsia attack a few days later and gave birth to a stillborn son. She died the next day in Paris, when Henry was on his way to see her. The King was heartbroken, particularly because there was a widespread belief that Gabrielle had been poisoned. He dressed black in mourning, which had never been done by a previous French king. He gave her a queen's funeral, with a procession of kings, princesses, and nobles carrying her coffin to the Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois church in Paris for a requiem mass.

The painter of this work, which does not have a signature, is unknown, but it is thought that a painter from "The School of Fontainebleau". This style, which is based on the works performed in Fontainebleau Castle by a few painters who came to France from Florence in the early 16th century, has the typical features of the Italian Renaissance and Mannerism. This style, which often carries mythological and allegorical symbols, includes erotic views embroidered with decorative elements as well.

In the painting, Gabrielle and her sister appear in a large bathtub. Contrary to expectations, the inside of the bathtub is not filled with water. Indeed, in 16th France, bathing was prohibited by church because of syphilis which probably moved from America to Europe after the 15th century, has turned common use areas into dangerous contagion environments, so that no matter what class they come from, people lived in an incredibly dirty way. Therefore, these beautiful women who did not touch their bodies with water at all, probably rest in this bathtub full of ingredients they believe provide youth, such as milk and wine. Gabrielle and her sister highlight their class with their hair made according to the fashion of the period, and they reinforce this class perception with pearl earrings in their ears. Both women have extremely white skin and small breasts which are the upper class beauty norms of the period. The focus of the work is the sister pinching Gabrielle’s nipples, while both women are in direct contact with the audience gaze without expression. It comes to mind that this pinch points directly to a lesbian relationship, when it is considering the effeminate lifestyle of Henri, this thesis of lesbianism can be supported in an interesting way. However, this unusual movement in the work is considered to have a more symbolic meaning; It is indicating that Gabrielle is pregnant. This emphasizes that the first child to be born will be the heir to Henry. On the other hand, it is seen that Gabrielle also shows a ring in her hand to the audience. This ring was presented to Henry at his coronation, and the King presented this ring to Gabrielle as a symbol of engagement. Symbolic meanings in the work are also repeated in the background; A woman is seen sewing in the dark background behind the curtains. It is thought that this woman, who is thought to be a midwife, sews clothes for the baby. On the other hand, the fact that the small mirror seen right next to the woman is without reflection indicates the end of life and it is associated with witches and devils. Also, the coffin seen next to the midwife is covered in a green fabric which is Gabrielle's favorite color. These details may also be thought to point to the death of Gabrielle, who was accused of being a witch. Moreover, a naked man is seen in the dressing room in the background, whose sexual region is covered with a cloth. There are comments that this naked man also made a reference to Gabrielle's immoral relationships. Also, this painting is noticeably slanted to the left; Gabrielle's sister uses her left hand to pinch her right breast, Gabrielle uses her left hand to hold the ring, and the seamstress in the background uses her left hand to knit.

This extraordinary work, whose symbols are not fully understood, preserves its enigmatic content due to the cryptic narrative technique of the period.