DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61669#0235
THE DETAILS OF THE PICTURE
left, the Bishop of Lavaur to the right, of a solid wooden table, of two
shelves, which occupies the centre of the painting.
Dinteville is richly clad in a slashed doublet of rose-coloured satin,
a black jacket and surcoat. The latter is lined with ermine, with which
the shoulder-puffs, further adorned with gilt tags, are piped. The oval
medallion of the French Order of St. Michael is suspended from a gold
chain worn round the neck. With the right hand he grasps a gold
dagger, the elaborately-chased sheath of which bears the inscription :
aet. svae 29. A large green and gold silk tassel, of surprisingly fine
execution, hangs, with the dagger, from his girdle.1 The hilt of a
sword, protruding from the surcoat, while its sheathed point may be
seen in the shadow near the ground, shows that Dinteville followed the
fashion, then almost universal in France, of wearing both dagger and
sword.2 His left arm reposes on the upper shelf of the table : the
tapering white fingers droop carelessly over its edge. The whole
attitude bespeaks easy self-confidence. On his head a small black
cap, worn jauntily on one side, is adorned by a diminutive silver skull
placed on a fanciful shield.
The features of the Bailly of Troyes abound with vivacity and
intelligence. The ample dark hair is cut square on the forehead, and
worn full on either side of the face ; the silky moustache and beard are
1 It may be pointed out that Dinteville’s costume shows many points of similarity
with that of Morette, in the portrait by Holbein at Dresden.
2 Besides the allusion already quoted from Brantome, the literature of the time has
many allusions to “ la dague et 1’epee,” the ordinary accoutrement at this period of the
French gentleman. In 1530, when the children of France were released from captivity on
the payment of their father’s ransom, it was ordered that the French and Spanish gentle-
men who met on the Bidassoa to effect the exchange, were to be armed only with “dagger
and sword,” z.e., to wear their every-day dress and not full armour, so as to forestall any
possibility of treachery on either side. (Du Bellay, “Memoires,” ed. Petitot, vol. ii., page
93.) See also for the mention of the same arms, the “Life of Benvenuto Cellini,”
translated by Symonds, page 169. In pictures the double weapon is frequently seen : in
England more especially among those representing persons who favoured Continental
fashions. Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, wears dagger, tassel, and sword in the
well-known portrait at Hampton Court. Instances could easily be multiplied. Planche
(“Cyclopaedia of Costume,” vol. ii., page 159) states that Rabelais attributes the origin of
this fashion to Spain.
201
D D
left, the Bishop of Lavaur to the right, of a solid wooden table, of two
shelves, which occupies the centre of the painting.
Dinteville is richly clad in a slashed doublet of rose-coloured satin,
a black jacket and surcoat. The latter is lined with ermine, with which
the shoulder-puffs, further adorned with gilt tags, are piped. The oval
medallion of the French Order of St. Michael is suspended from a gold
chain worn round the neck. With the right hand he grasps a gold
dagger, the elaborately-chased sheath of which bears the inscription :
aet. svae 29. A large green and gold silk tassel, of surprisingly fine
execution, hangs, with the dagger, from his girdle.1 The hilt of a
sword, protruding from the surcoat, while its sheathed point may be
seen in the shadow near the ground, shows that Dinteville followed the
fashion, then almost universal in France, of wearing both dagger and
sword.2 His left arm reposes on the upper shelf of the table : the
tapering white fingers droop carelessly over its edge. The whole
attitude bespeaks easy self-confidence. On his head a small black
cap, worn jauntily on one side, is adorned by a diminutive silver skull
placed on a fanciful shield.
The features of the Bailly of Troyes abound with vivacity and
intelligence. The ample dark hair is cut square on the forehead, and
worn full on either side of the face ; the silky moustache and beard are
1 It may be pointed out that Dinteville’s costume shows many points of similarity
with that of Morette, in the portrait by Holbein at Dresden.
2 Besides the allusion already quoted from Brantome, the literature of the time has
many allusions to “ la dague et 1’epee,” the ordinary accoutrement at this period of the
French gentleman. In 1530, when the children of France were released from captivity on
the payment of their father’s ransom, it was ordered that the French and Spanish gentle-
men who met on the Bidassoa to effect the exchange, were to be armed only with “dagger
and sword,” z.e., to wear their every-day dress and not full armour, so as to forestall any
possibility of treachery on either side. (Du Bellay, “Memoires,” ed. Petitot, vol. ii., page
93.) See also for the mention of the same arms, the “Life of Benvenuto Cellini,”
translated by Symonds, page 169. In pictures the double weapon is frequently seen : in
England more especially among those representing persons who favoured Continental
fashions. Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, wears dagger, tassel, and sword in the
well-known portrait at Hampton Court. Instances could easily be multiplied. Planche
(“Cyclopaedia of Costume,” vol. ii., page 159) states that Rabelais attributes the origin of
this fashion to Spain.
201
D D