Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Is this Where Lady Gaga Gets Her Inspiration?

The door to the room where we sat chatting suddenly opened. A dead woman entered. Her superb body was modelling a dress of white satin that was wrapped around her like a shroud and dragged behind her. A bouquet of orchids hid her breast. Her hair was red and her complexion livid like alabaster. Her face was devoured by two enormous eyes, whose black pupils almost overwhelmed her mouth painted a red so vivid that it seemed like a strip of coagulated blood. In her arms, she carried a baby leopard. It was the Marchesa Casati. –

Gabriel-Louis Pringué -1914

Was she the Lady Gaga of her day?

16 comments:

  1. Clearly! I just did a quick google search of Marchesa Casati and the photographs and paintings are amazing! I hope she never disappointed her fans the way Lady Gaga has with her more recent outfits as 'Jo Calderone'

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  2. Fascinating comparison, David!

    xx
    Rachel

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  3. Possibly! There's a new "Lady Gaga" every decade or so.

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  4. lady gaga is cool but this is so much better!

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  5. Awesome! I did look up the town you told me and it is in the middle of nowhere! Haha I honestly do not know how you made it living out there. How was it? I am sure you like Toronto better right? I am expecting my invite next time you go to Australia ha!

    Hugs! ~Angel

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  6. We live in a circle, going nowhere I am afraid :-)

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  7. Hello David:
    A most intriguing comparison but we should say that the Marchesa was rather more stylish, certainly managing to live up to her own aim of being a 'living work of art'.

    We were most interested to discover that the Marchesa is buried in London [Brompton Cemetery].

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  8. Yes it's possibly. Louisa Casati is an inspiration for Lady Gaga.
    Great post as always.

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  9. Ah...yes...I remember reading about her as kid, once upon a time in Cecil Beaton's The Glass of Fashion...and then some other book just about her, more recently.

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  10. What a coincidence! I was just contemplating on buying Infinite Variety when I was at the bookstore last weekend. I guess this post has pretty much made up my mind. Thanks for this David!

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  11. Thank you so much! It's wonderful to hear that you missed me. I'm always afraid that you all forget me when I have no time to post regularly.
    I disappeared for a while because I have a wonderful NEW JOB!!!!!!!
    I was fighting for it since January and about 7 weeks ago I got it! It's demanding but absolutely fun and I'm happy every day when I wake up and drive 70 kilometers to work.
    The first months in a new job aren't easy so that's why I didn't have time to take care of my blog but but it'll be better soon, I think.
    :-)))

    Perfect post.
    YES! "I want to be a living work of art" [too]
    :-)))
    (I have the "Portraits of a Muse" :-)

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  12. I think there was always a lady Gaga, everything is already invented.Great post.
    XX.Y

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