LHMP #559 Abbot 1993 The Portrait as Text

This biographical article isn’t directly relevant to lesbianism, but provides an example of a woman who broke gender norms and was celebrated for it. I’ve added her to my list of fascinating 17th century women.

Madame de Saint Balmon was a French noblewoman who lived in the first half of the 17th century. Although she was an acclaimed poet and playwright, she avoided the court. Her management of the family estates launched her military fame in the context of the 30 Years War. (One contributing reason for Saint Balmon’s military leadership is that her she and her husband we’re on different sides in the war–she remaining loyal to the French crown while he was on the opposite side.) This fame led to a near-contemporary biography titled (in French) The Christian Amazon, or the Adventures of Madame de Saint Balmon. She was also immortalized in a number of portraits, including the two military-themed works by a single artist that are the focus of this article.

In a common style of the day, both portraits frame the central equestrian figure with a panorama of images representing scenes from her life and deeds. The two center slightly different aspects of her life, possibly related to the different intended audience is for the works.

Both paintings feature the dominating image of Saint Balmon, wearing male clothing (a completely male outfit, not only individual garments) seated on a rearing horse wearing a sword and holding a lance. Above her are saints, angels, and cherubs. Below is a landscape representing her lands, with scenes of battles as well as more peaceful activities, such as a group representing a salon. The article provides background for some of the skirmishes depicted, including one in which she received both bullet and sword wounds during a successful raid.

The smaller of the two portraits focuses more consistently on Saint Balmon as a military hero, without imagery associated with more conventional feminine virtues, well the larger portrayed mixes military and courtly imagery. The article suggests this difference reflects that the smaller work was intended for her family, while the larger may have been commissioned for the Queen of France and thus needed to soften her image somewhat.