Violante

"Violante" by Titian

Origin: Italian
Gender: Female
Meaning: "The color violet"
Pronunciation: vyoo-LANT, bee-oh-LAHN-teh, vee-oh-LAHN-teh
Other forms: Yolanda, Iolanda, Yolande, Jólánka, Jolanda

A beautiful and regal name, Violante is an interesting take on the Violet trend. This name comes from the French-Provincial Yolant or Yolans merging with the Italian Viola. Duchess Violante Beatrice of Bavaria was the Grand Princess of Tuscany, she was married to Grand Prince Fernando of Tuscany and loved him very much, unfortunately he did not love her. He declared her too ugly and too dull. Fernando eventually died from syphilis leaving her a childless widow. Cosimo III, the reigning king of that time, made her Governor of Siena where she stayed for the rest of her life.

The painting "Violante" was once thought to be by Palma the Elder, as his daughter is normally referred to as Violante, though eventually it was attributed to Titian because of its similarity to his other works, the feature of a young woman with curly golden hair. Titian was supposedly enamored with Violante which may be why he painted her.

This name is a beautiful alternative to Violet, especially for those who have ties to Italy.

Comments

  1. Oh poor Violante, what a crummy husband she got stuck with.

    It's a beautiful name, but it does sound a bit like someone saying "violent" in a stage-Italian accent.

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