On February 25, in crowded Los Angeles, the 91st Oscar awarded the most shining jewel in its crown-Best Actress to the British actor Olivia Cole, who played Queen Anne in "The Beloved." Erman, she has also become the darling of the infinite beauty in front of the spotlight. It is said that there are three women in a play, the sword and shadow in the palace, and the true feelings of the fake play under the curtain have led to the fate of the three women entangled in the deep palace.
Some people even joked that "Beloved" is simply Lily's "Zhen Huan Biography" and Ji Quan's "Strategy of Yanxi Palace". Regarding this period drama that deeply reflects the eighteenth century, let's talk about the interesting things hidden behind it.
1. Queen Anne’s Tears and the War of the Spanish Succession
Queen Anne was the last queen of the British Stuart dynasty. After her reign ended in 1714, the British Hanoverian dynasty kicked off. So what is Queen Anne like in history? Is it really as sick and weak as depicted in the movie?
Key word one: extraordinary life experience, gentle style
Queen Anne was the daughter of James III and Queen Anne Hyde, who were overthrown by the Glorious Revolution in 1688, and the sister-in-law of King William III who succeeded to the throne. Anne married Danish Prince George at the age of 18. She was sworn to the throne in Great Britain in 1702 and launched the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) in the same year, which was led by the Duke of Marlborough (John Churchill) in the movie. , And thus caused a constant battle between the Whig Party and the Tory Party.
This war was actually to prevent France from annexing Spain and once again dominate Europe. Many more powerful European countries spontaneously formed alliances to fight against France. Under the command of the Duke of Marlborough, in 1708 the Grand Alliance had taken control of the Atlantic and Mediterranean seas.
Queen Anne's reign style tends to be moderate and pragmatic. During her reign, she used private property to establish a gift fund for poor priests, and became an important support for the Church of England; Queen Anne was more inclined to act than the sharply political Whig party The moderate Tories, especially after the Spanish Succession War, many Whigs tried to exert pressure on the Queen for more political rights. After being suppressed by the Queen, many Whig MPs were fired after 1710. This historical fact is also restored in the movie, and the relationship between the queen and Sarah Churchill has come to a fork in the road.
Keyword 2: Disease-ridden, early death of offspring
After Queen Anne married Prince George of Denmark, the two did have a short and happy marriage. But it is a pity that the seventeen children born to the Queen suffered successive misfortunes and were very short-lived. Queen Anne suffered a lot of mental shock because of this. She was not only the queen of an empire, but also a heartbroken mother. The seventeen rabbits that the Queen regards as treasures are mentioned many times in the play. These rabbits correspond to her children who died early. The birthdays of the rabbits are the day when the children die.
Not only that, Queen Anne has been suffering from illness all her life. After the age of 30, her figure is getting fat day by day, her legs suffer from severe ventilation, and she even needs a wheelchair and crutches to move.
The movie "The Beloved" sets the time in Great Britain in 1704, over the haze of England all day long, and the birds have no spirit to sing. Under the wide-angle of Oggs's treacherous movement, Queen Anne dragged her deadly body and sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the dormitory. The faint candlelight in the room flickered, as if death had just come from here. She is so lonely. After getting old, her right eye was not very visible, but she still ordered her to search through all the letters sent to the palace every day, stubbornly almost crazy.
Sarah, how are you? She knew that she actually didn't want to hear the answer.
"Just hug the rabbits and die, I am not afraid of death at all, because I have died seventeen times."
2. Women's corsets, men's wigs and the gorgeous aesthetics of the 18th century
In general, the clothing of this period has a gorgeous Rococo style as a whole.
l What is Rococo?
It refers to the artistic style that prevailed in Europe before the 1870s. Rococo itself is a compound word (Rocaille) composed of "rock" and "shell" in French, that is, this style is mainly decorated with rocks and mussel shells. Curly lines and asymmetric shapes are often used as decorations, which are exquisite and gorgeous. Compared with the baroque hustle and bustle, Rococo is more delicate and euphemistic, with laziness in its gorgeousness.
l The same gorgeous costumes
(1) Women's clothing
During the Rococo period in the 18th century, women were at the center of salons, and how to dress well was a very important topic for women. Women's clothing can be summarized in a simple formula: Corps Baleine (corset) + Pannier (pannier); the watau-style Robe style skirt has a larger neckline, which makes it easy to expose the crisp breast, and at the same time, the lace bands are complicated and more prominent. The beauty of women's buttocks.
The fabric of the long skirt is soft, and a large number of floral patterns are also printed on it, which is very feminine.
Think about it, in Europe in the eighteenth century, women frankly showed off their feminine breasts and buttocks, and they were all amorous feelings when they smiled. Just like in the Palace of Versailles at sunset, under the bright lights, the beautiful faces are reflected on the silver surface of the wine glass. Philosophy, music, poetry, painting... The delicate red lips open and close, as if the most magnificent one The symphony makes people want to drown in this vast ocean of spirit.
As the art design director of the movie Beloved, Sandy Powell, the three-time Oscar winner of best costume design, added more bold designs and innovations on the basis of retaining certain characteristics of the age. Focusing on the character of the characters that the movie wants to present, the integration of "recycled denim, African prints and historically inaccurate fabrics (recyclable cotton, African patterns and fiber materials that have not yet appeared at the time)" tries to fit the three women in the play more closely. Development of image and plot.
In an interview with Vogue, Sandy said frankly, "Churchill is the confident leader already in place, sturdy and forthright in her views". Therefore, the clothing design mainly chooses crisp materials, simple patterns, and overall colors that are masculine, appearing dignified and generous. Heroic
But for Abigail Masham, "she is the rags-to-riches newcomer fighting tooth and nail for acceptance", so the costumes in the play have undergone several major changes to better bring out the changes in the status of the characters. .
For example, when entering the palace, Abigail was just an unknown little maid. Her skirts were mostly linen, with simple designs and almost no ornamentation.
But after being promoted by Churchill, the clothes began to change, the material became silk visible to the naked eye, and the decoration began to increase.
After being favored by the queen, look at the little eyes.
Later, in the battle with Mrs. Sara, victorious steadily, the blue clouds went up, the makeup became thicker and the clothes became more gorgeous. The picture below shows Abigail having a carnival with the female relatives, and there is a kind of coquettish beauty.
As for Queen Anne, Sandy himself commented, “Queen Anne is at the top of the trifecta, the frail and distraught matriarch in desperate need of love and affection”. As a result, the queen's costume was portrayed with a sense of helplessness and an untimely childishness.
(2) Men's clothing
In this era of men's clothing, the lines have gradually developed in a straight line. The jacket design is short in the front and long in the back. The collar begins to appear, and the sleeves have changed from the original large opening to a style that fits the arm. In the early eighteenth century, men's bottom pants also began to use bright colors, and the tops (Frock) were mostly printed or striped styles, which are also the prototypes of contemporary tuxedos.
To add a little knowledge, watching the 18th century period dramas usually find that both men and women have relatively rich makeup. The characteristics of popular makeup during this period are: a) pale complexion b) wild eyebrows (even using mouse hair as eyebrows) c) eye shadow (the color is brighter, mostly orange) d) inverted triangle blush e) face Usually there are moles, or some small patterns (to cover up acne or scars), such as Charlotte in the following picture "Mingshu":
3. Hunting, pineapple and bubble mud
When watching "The Beloved", I also paid special attention to the unusual entertainment methods of the nobles in the 18th century, such as gambling, exotic snacks, and bathing with noble women. It is very interesting to read, so I will share it with everyone.
1. The British-style bow to shoot a large eagle
Hunting has a long history in the United Kingdom. From the time the Duke of Normandy of France conquered England in 1066, the Norman hunting tradition was introduced to the United Kingdom. Especially for the upper-class royal family and nobles, it is regarded as the most important outdoor recreational activity. In spring and autumn every year, they gather in the English countryside to enjoy the fun of chasing.
The most common hunting activities in the UK mainly include fox hunting, deer hunting and bird shooting. However, during the Stuart period in the 17th century, as the number of deer and wild boars decreased, foxes gradually became the main hunting targets, and hunters began to domesticate fox-hunting horses and foxhounds in large numbers.
Interestingly, in the early 18th century, the British aristocracy preferred to operate on their own land, hunting without rules. The French nobles were far away from the land, and often required rigorous training in riding schools before hunting.
So what did the female riding clothes in the 18th century look like? What are the characteristics?
The painter Lancret painted a picture of "Picnic after the hunt" in 1740, which reflected the female hunting clothes of that era in detail.
Among all Riding Habits , the most important part is a vest called " Waistcoat ". There are three forms of this vest: Large-Skirted Waistcoats (1740s-1760s), Short-Skirted Waistcoats (1770s-1780s), Skirt-less Waistcoats (1770s-1790s) . The three styles of vests are as follows in order.
For a century, riding vests have been simplified and developed towards practicality, reflecting the increase in the frequency of women's outdoor activities and the expectation of improving their social status.
2 "You are like the pineapple of Great Britain"
I don’t know if you still remember that Abigail declared his victory in front of Sarah in a single sentence in "The Beloved", "Didn’t I win? I only know that your carriage is waiting, and my maid is carrying it. Come here with pineapples .” So why were pineapples so precious in the eighteenth century Britain that they could even be used as a symbol of status and status?
Pineapple is native to the Amazon river basin in Brazil and Paraguay in South America. It was the explorer Columbus who discovered this bright yellow and exotic fruit in some leeward islands of Guadeloupe, so he took some along with him. Back to Spain, it was 1493, this year the pineapple was introduced to the world outside the New World. After another two hundred years, the pineapple was officially planted in the Dutch colony and successfully transplanted into Europe. Europeans were shocked when they saw the pineapple for the first time. How precious is it? You can see this picture painted in 1675. The British King Charles II is listening carefully to the pious introduction of the pineapple in his hand. Face joy.
The pineapple is expensive because of its inconvenient transportation, and it often becomes a display for the nobles to show off their wealth at home. If you have watched the first season of the British drama "Famous Shu", you should remember that in order to show love to her, Sir Howard, the keeper at the beginning of Charlotte, put a pineapple ride in a gem-decorated box and confessed affectionately:
3. Take a beauty bath in "hot chocolate"
As the battle between Abigail and Sarah became increasingly fierce, a bathing scene of the three in the play was wonderful. Especially the queen’s bathroom is simply a paradise for green plants. You can enjoy the natural beauty while taking a bath, and there are two lovely people around you. Don’t have a perfect life, okay?
But in addition to the bathroom, I also noticed that when the queen and Sarah bathed together, they were not in ordinary hot water, but looked like a sticky gray-brown paste, so the queen joked as "Hot What exactly is "chocolate"
In fact, since the 18th century, Mud Bath has been popular among European aristocrats . They generally believe that the mixture of mineral water and mud is very beneficial to health, and can even be used as a medical method to treat the body. This method of bathing was especially popular in Europe and the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries. At the same time, many bathing houses (Bathing houses) emerged, not only for people to soak in mud baths, but also for many women's social places .
4. The bizarre relationship between the two sexes under the palace curtain
When watching movies, I have always had a small question, that is, does the Duke of Marlborough really not know the extraordinary closeness between his wife and the queen? If he knew, why did he choose to leave it alone? In other words, throwing this question to a higher level of society, how did the British society in the 18th century recognize the relationship between the sexes in marriage?
If we were to use adjectives to describe the private lives (especially marriages) of European aristocrats in the 18th century, it would probably be chaos and carnival .
Fashionable marriages in the 18th century can be said to have no form of contract , but no life-long intimacy . You must know that at the time, the Duke of Chouyser of France said publicly: "Let's analyze what can make a woman's reputation discredited: having a lover shouldn't affect her reputation. Everyone has no objection on this point. "So the matter of having a lover will not affect the reputation of both husband and wife at all, unless you deal with multiple lovers at the same time or have a fight with the lover. According to records, even a noble husband ran into the lover hiding under his wife's bed early in the morning, and said kindly: "Do you want sugar in your coffee?"
It is now clear that women in that era were not obliged to love their husbands, because most aristocratic marriages were marriages based on interest considerations, so both parties were openly allowed to have their own lovers, so that the surface peace of the marriage could be maintained. Of course, this customary habit did not continue. When the bourgeoisie seized the right to speak in the 19th century, this kind of "friendly family atmosphere" was less and less visible, but it still existed among the decadent aristocratic classes. For example, in "Anna Karenina", Karenin implied that Anna could acquiesce in her lover Wolensky in order to prevent his wife from divorcing him. Since then, this period of loveless marriage is maintained.
When I was doing research and sorting out historical facts, I became more and more interesting about the last "carnival" of the so-called aristocrats in this century, like a vivid and fragrant absurd novel. Of course, "Beloved" also photographed this absurdity. The more absurd, the more desperate it is. It is a carnival that knows that one's fate is short-lived, and the background of feelings is eternal sadness.
At the end of the film, Queen Anne struggled to get up, clutching Abigail's hair and muttering to herself. Oggs’s camera stayed on Emma Stone’s face for nearly three minutes, unwilling, empty, struggling, desperate... "She has been in love all her life but she has never really grasped love. She has had Love has lost love from now on. She seems to have received love but she still doesn’t understand love.” All Luo Chou Qihen was slammed into a huge empty box, disappeared in an instant, leaving no one in the air. sigh.
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