Ever since its publication in the fall 0f 2022, The Marriage Portrait has been at the top of my "free read" list, those books that can be read between books for book club and Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures. I absolutely adored O"Farrell's Hamnet and was excited to delve into her take of Renaissance Italy. The novel is the very fictionalized story of Lucrezia de Medici, who at the age of 15 is married to Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara.
The premise for the novel is attributed to Robert Browning's poem, My Last Duchess. as the Duke of Ferrara contemplates a portrait of his late wife and how her portrait is painted. The poem further intimates that the wife was poisoned, and more than likely by himself.
Lucrezia is a bit of a hellion, full of spirit and independent beyond what was every expected of a woman of her time. This is attributed to the manor in which she is conceived, according to her mother, Eleanora, who had been inattentive the night her daughter was conceived. As a young girl, Lucrezia was fascinated with her father's menagerie, including a tiger that absolutely fascinates Lucrezia.
The intended bride for the Duke was actually Maria, Lucrezia's older sister. However, when she dies, the honor is passed to the younger Medici. After their marriage the Duke whisks his new bride away to a villa where he intends to bide some time while he manages affairs of others in his family. The marriage is finally consummated in a scene that shows his lack of tenderness and power that he wields over his wife. She, being so young, has no idea of what to expect. O'Farrell is a master of steamy sex (reminiscent of the Apple shed in Hamnet), without going into details of the act. The style of writing by going back and forth in time is another hallmark of her writing. The reader sees the fear of Lucrezia as she suspects that she will be murdered and then back in time to witness how she got to that point.
With the desire to have a portrait of his wife completed, the novel brings in 2 painters, Jacopo and Il Bastianino. They spend more time with her than Alfonso and Jacopo plays a very special role in her life. After years with out producing an heir, Alfonso takes her to Stellata, a fortress, without any of the servants. It is there that Lucrezia feels that Alfonso means to murder her. But considering that Alfonso has not produce even a bastard child, it would seem that the lack of an heir falls fully on his shoulders.
O'Farrell had taken many liberties in writing this novel with it not being as historically accurate as it could have been. Her writing, tho, makes up for some of that. She is a master of the metaphor and descriptive passages. She endows Lucrezia with the power for women to be themselves and maintain power over their lives as she defies Alfonso's authority in the way she paints and her moves to outwit him. The novel was not as captivating as Hamnet, but it was a joy to appreciate O'Farrell's style of writing.
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