Bartolomeo Veneto, active 1502 - 1546 Portrait of a Young Lady about 1500-10 Oil on wood, 55.5 x 44.2 cm Salting Bequest, 1910 NG2507 http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/NG2507
Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519) was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI, a member of the House of Borgia, and famous for her beauty, possibly incestuous relationship with her brother Cesare Borgia, and rumored to be a poisoner. In reality, she was highly educated, married a number of prominent Italian nobles for her family’s political ambitions, had more than one affair, gave birth to 10 children, and died shortly after childbirth at the age of 39.
Given the rumors surrounding Lucrezia and her family, she’s been the subject of many films and TV series — most notably, Showtime’s The Borgias, but also several hilariously softcore porn-type films. Let’s see how she’s looked on screen!
Lucrezia Borgia (1922)
A silent German film that makes Cesare evil and Lucrezia good, with Austrian actress Liane Haid in the title role.
Don Juan (1926)
A silent-dialogue, musically-soundtracked film starring John Barrymore as the famed womanizer. Lucrezia Borgia (American Estelle Taylor) has the hots for him, but he’s into Adriana (Mary Astor).
Lucrezia Borgia (1935)
A French film starring future-legend Edwige Feuillère, whose reputation was greatly enhanced by this role.
Lucrezia Borgia (1940)
An Italian film starring Isa Pola in the title role.
Bride of Vengeance (1949)
An American film starring Paulette Goddard (with Days of Our Lives star Macdonald Carey as Cesare!). Cesare is bad and leads Lucrezia astray.
Lucrèce Borgia (1953)
Another French take, with Martine Carol (1954’s Madame du Barry) as Lucrezia.
The Nights of Lucrezia Borgia (1959)
The first of many possible-softcore takes on Lucrezia, with English Belinda Lee in the title role.
Pleasant Nights (1966)
An Italian comedy film, with Maria Grazia Buccella as Lucrezia.
The Man Who Laughs (1966)
One of many adaptations of the Victor Hugo novel, this one setting the story amongst the Borgia family. Lisa Gastoni plays Lucrezia.
Lucrezia (1968)
The film that inspired this post! Because, WHAT THE FROCK. Ahem. An Italian-Austrian production that has to be minimum softcore, with Czech actress Olga Schoberová as Lucrezia.
Immoral Tales (1973)
“Four erotic-themed stories that involve the loss of virginity, masturbation, bloodlust, and incest” per Wikipedia, guess which one is about Lucrezia (Florence Bellamy)?
Lucrezia Giovane (1974)
An Italian film in which Lucrezia (Simonetta Stefanelli) kills all of Cesare’s love interests.
The Borgias (1981)
A BBC miniseries that was something of a flop, with Australian Anne-Louise Lambert as Lucrezia.
The Secret Nights of Lucrezia Borgia (1982)
An Italian-Spanish production, with Finnish Sirpa Lane as Lucrezia.
E ridendo l’uccise (2005)
“And laughing he killed her,” an Italian film focused on the Este brothers, with Marianna De Micheli as Lucrezia.
Imperia, la Grande Cortigiana (2005)
I love that someone made a movie about Roman courtesan Imperia Cognati, because That Name! Sadly I don’t think I’ll be going out of my way to watch this, just based on these photos. Imperia crosses paths with the Borgias, including Chiara Claudi as Lucrezia.
The Borgia (2006)
A Spanish-Italian film, with Spanish MarÃa Valverde as Lucrezia.
The Borgias (2011-13)
The Showtime miniseries that was so, so pretty, with Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI and Holliday Grainger as a nicely nuanced Lucrezia.
Borgia: Faith and Fear (2011-14)
Also just known as Borgia, this was a French-German-Czech-Italian TV miniseries, with German Isolda Dychauk as Lucrezia.
What fresh horrors await poor Lucrezia Borgia?
I don’t think there’s anything left to be said. Story — all over the place; costumes — ditto. Just goes to show there are/were a lot of beautiful actresses out there.
There’s a wonderful Donizetti opera—Lucrezia Borgia—in which she seduces and then poisons a young courtier who turns out to be her son. Terrible story, great music.
Favourite Lucrezia on screen: Holliday Granger costumed by Gabriella Pescucci. Nuf said.
I have vague memories of the 1981 Borgias. Was pretty good both casting and costume wise as I recall.
The real Lucrezia never poisoned anybody or had an incestuous affair with father or brother. She was on the evidence devoted to them and allowed herself to be married off repeatedly for Borgias advantage without protest, though she does seem to have taken exception to her second husband’s murder. She certainly did have lovers but the Roman Infant probably wasn’t hers. She was a great success as Duchess of Ferrera and her husband seems to have genuinely grieved her death though neither had been what you’d call faithful.
Aren’t alternative facts and fake news the best? And this post might also be Kendra’s greatest achievement in stills curating. (I had no idea so many sultry European actresses had portrayed the Venetian Renaissance Barbie.) I’ve only seen “The Borgias,” and loved it for the fabulous dresses and hairstyles and sets, and Jeremy Irons sashaying about, mourning all the sins he has to commit for Mother Church.
Also, fusilli pasta is reputed to have been modeled after Lucrezia’s hair.
Boobs and missing hairpins are a recurring theme here.
The few pictures believed to be of Lucrezia suggest flowing hair was a trademark of hers. Falling out of the bodices of her dresses not so much.
The only thing I can remember about the 1981 series is Adolfo Celi’s incomprehensible accent. Oh, and Anne Louise Lambert played Miranda in ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’.
laughs until almost the end of the post At least they, um, got a wee bit more accurate per decade. Maybe.
“What’s on their head?” seems like a major theme here. Majorly hilarious! Is this a theme of its own? It should be.
Even for the time, the eyebrows in Bride of Vengeance feels particularly crazy to me! They look like they’re about to take off from her face. Ah well, I’m sure our descendants will look at the eyebrow fashions of the last decade or two and laugh themselves silly
It’s odd that the Hollywood version from SHOWTIME is your favorite.
Movies always focus on Lucrezia’s supposed love life but there was more to her than sex and poison. She was the only one of Alexander’s children whose power and influenced survived his death. And she died honored and respected and much regretted.
Gah! I remember the fights in the comments section over the head-necklace/nautically-themed frontlet band in that last one. So much cringe…
Dear lord, the “tits out bodice” is strong here.
I love Isolda Dychauck’s versión of Lucrezia, her evolution from a spoilt little girl to someone who is able to rule, ambitious, in charge of her sexuality, a good counselor… But also a good and compassionate woman. She’s not the most accurately dressed (Grainger is) but her evolution in the show is logic and interesting, I can’t help but live this Lucrezia. By the way, I read that from all the Borgia movies and shows, “Borgia: Faith & Fear” has the best cardinal outfits, especially those winter furry hats! And this series also has Mark Ryder as Cesare, not only does he a great job here, but also he’s the sexiest version of Cesare, Ryder in “Borgia” is the definition of period drama hotness!
The first photo from the 1968 Lucrezia—did she fall off the facade from the It’s a Small World ride at Disneyland??
For the steering wheel forehead thing, there’s actually 3 or 4 portraits of (allegedly) lucrezia where she wears a similar piece, although way smaller. Here’s one https://cerignola.gocity.it/library/media/lucrezia_borgia.jpg
As I discussed ad nauseum in my review of ‘Borgia: Faith & Fear’ — yes, but that show did a really crappy job by making it so huge & clunky, plus the original portrait is allegorical of “spring” showing her mostly naked so it’s not even contemporary fashion. So it’s wrong on multiple levels.
I would steal every teal coloured dress from ‘The Borgias’! They are STUNNING !