As bearing on the subject of Mary's personal appearance and the fidelity of her portraits, the following passages from an article contributed to the Glasgow Herald, as a review of Mr. J. J. Foster's work, Concerning the True Portraiture of Mary Queen of Scots,
1
For an account of this poem, Maister Randolphe's Fantasie, see pages 91-98.
2
As bearing on the subject of Mary's personal appearance and the fidelity of her portraits, the following passages from an article contributed to the Glasgow Herald, as a review of Mr. J. J. Foster's work, Concerning the True Portraiture of Mary Queen of Scots, may here be reproduced: "Mr. Foster points out 'in some cases a slight but perceptible squint'. We have noticed this in one or two instances only, and in portraits which, though they may be authentic, are technically inferior; and we are consequently more inclined to attribute the defect to the artist than to nature. The majority of the most trustworthy portraits agree in making the upper eyelids thick, with an uninterrupted curve, in setting the arched, well-marked eyebrows wide apart, and in giving an exceptionally broad space between the eyes and the ears. The oval face, the high cheek-bones, the round, well-proportioned and capacious forehead, the long but shapely Greek nose, are features with regard to which there is practical unanimity. Even if Sir George Scharf had not pointed it out, it would hardly be possible to overlook the peculiarity of the compressed lips. They are not thin, however, though, on the other hand, they are very far from possessing that fulness which physiognomists look upon as an indication of sensuality. Another feature, so often reproduced as to be almost characteristic and distinctive, is the strongly-marked V depression in the middle of the upper lip. The cheek is full in its lower part, but not unduly so. The chin is well-developed, but is neither cloven nor dimpled… Prince Labanoff declared that, with the exception of one portrait – and that of dubious authenticity – none renders even youth or average beauty. Quite recently Major Martin Hume wrote of Mary that 'a contemplation of her known authentic portraits, even those taken in the best years of her youth and happiness, does not carry conviction that her physical beauty alone can have been the cause of the extraordinary influence she exercised over the men who came within the sphere of her attraction'. And now we have Mr. Foster admitting that 'scarcely any of the so-called portraits of Mary Stuart bear out the reputation of her beauty'; and that 'all her pictures entirely lack that indefinable charm which captivated everyone brought in contact with her'. He seems to attribute this, in some measure, at least, to the imperfections of the artists of the time. He might perhaps have added, to the unfavourable circumstances under which they worked. For, as M. Dimier tells us, 'the oil-painting was never attempted from life. The artist brought away from his model nothing but the crayon and some written notes concerning the complexion, colour of hair, and of the eyes; he handled the colours only in his studio, and finished the work at his leisure'. We know, too, of Mary Stuart, in particular, that she ordered portraits of herself to be painted in France, fourteen years after leaving the country."
3
Œuvres, vol. ii, p. 1172.
7
T. Wright's Queen Elizabeth and her Time, vol. i, p. 311.
8
G. Chalmers, Life of Queen Mary, vol. i, pp. 443-4.
9
Œuvres, vol. ii, pp. 1172-4.
10
Melville's Memoirs, p. 124.
13
History of the Reformation, vol. ii, p. 381.
14
Teulet, Papiers d'État, t. ii, p. 883.
16
Rhétorique Françoise, Paris, 1555.
17
Latin Themes of Mary Stuart, published by Anatole de Montaiglon.
18
Letter from Randolph to Cecil, 7 April, 1562.
19
Brantôme, t. v., p. 84.
20
Inventories of Mary Queen of Scots. Bannatyne Club, p. 179 et seq.
22
"Concionero de Romances", Inventories, p. cxlvi.
23
Unless it be he that is meant in the entry: "Danies
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