THE LAUREL TROPHY
part six
Hebe, the goddess of eternal youth
sculpted in marble by Canova, 1796-1817, Canova Museum, Possagno
Instead of carrying off the charming but vacillating Madame Récamier to his Berlin palace as his bride in 1808, Prince Augustus of Prussia took the famous portrait by Gérard, perhaps sensing that owning an archetype of the eternal feminine was a more prestigious investment than a legal bond with the living woman.
The real Madame Récamier was unfazed by the incorruptible beauty of her painted alter ego, while her own fortunes, looks and health faded, and continued to pursue her career as a salonnière. It is a relief to know that her vitality, charming conversation and good taste
were resilient to time and poverty. The cultural power generated by her reputation, that we would call her brand, was unassailable.
But something changed in her. At the age of forty she freed a
hidden self when....
