La belle Piémontaise (Testudo)

Peter De Cleyn La belle Piémontaise

stoneware clay, wood, metal

(34 x 16 x 13 cm)

From TESTUDO:

A girl from Piedmont hides her beautiful face. For whom? Has she become one with the lute or better: with the lutenist? Who is that lutenist? Is it Charles Mouton? Has she found the key to happiness with Mouton? In Piedmont, Italy, the women must have been really beautiful. A folk song entitled ' La Piémontaise' ( Mon Dieu Que J'en Suis à Mon Aise ) refers to it. A French soldier is recruited to fight in Italy against the Spanish. The fiancée is not only sad because of the impending departure, she is also jealous because which beautiful Piémontaise will he encounter there?
Little is known about Charles Mouton (1617- ca.1699), except that he was born in Paris in 1617 (read also under: La Belle Homicide). His parents are Charles and Gillette Aulmont. His mother came from a wealthy family. Her second husband, the musician Claude Pron, took care of the musical education of both her brothers: Gilles and François. A nice detail about Charles Mouton was found in a poem by Jean-François Sarasin from 1656. The poem is entitled Mouton fabuleux and is dedicated to ... Monsieur Mouton, Excellent ioüeur de Luth."