The Riddle of Writing: Chocolate

Sunday, 10 February 2013

Chocolate and Romance from the 17th Century

This Giveaway has now ended and the winner is Susan Heim! Congratulations to Susan, and thank you to everyone who commented, or followed me on Facebook or the blog.

The Chocolate Girl

by Jean Etienne Liotard

I first wrote about this painting back in December last year in a post about maidservants, but I thought it was a great story for a Valentine's week post and worth highlighting again. I don't know if there is a novel based on this Cinderella-like tale, but it might make a good one. (No plans for it myself!)

The story behind the commissioning of this painting is a great romantic myth. The girl in the portrait, Anna Baltauf, worked as a maidservant in one of the Viennese chocolate shops which had become hugely popular during the 17th and18th centuries. She had little chance of good marriage as her father was too poor to give her a good dowry, however in the summer of 1745, a young Austrian nobleman - Prince Dietrichstein - came into the shop. He fell in love with the Chocolate Girl and asked her to marry him, despite objections from his family As a wedding present to his 'chocolate girl' he commissioned this portrait of his wife wearing the maid’s costume she was wearing when he first set eyes on her. Is this true? I guess we'll never really know.

Ella Appleby from my book The Gilded Lily would have loved this story. It was what she dreamed about for herself, that a prince might come and rescue her from her humdrum life. Sadie, her sister, would have gently told her to stop dreaming and to deliver the tray to the customer before the chocolate went cold.

More information about the story can be found here

The painting itself, formerly in Dresden, survived World War II and Allied bombs by being kept in a damp cellar in Konigstein Fortress and brought back to Dresden after the Germans retreated from advancing Russian troops. Fortunately it seems none the worse, and is a wonderful portrait of costume and detail from the mid 18th century.

The same girl can be seen in one of Liotard's other works, 'The Breakfast.'

I am offering two copies of THE GILDED LILY - one for the Hearts through History Blog Hop, and one for the League of British Artists Valentine Giveaway. (Click to take you there)

Both are International - wherever Book Depository delivers.

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Hop Participants - Hearts Through History