Josefa de Tudó y Catalán, 1st Countess of Castillo Fiel, (in full, es,

Doña Don (; ; pt, Dom, links=no ; all from Latin ', roughly 'Lord'), abbreviated as D., is an honorific prefix primarily used in Spain and Hispanic America, and with different connotations also in Italy, Portugal and its former colonies, and Croatia ...

Josefa Petra Francisca de Paula de Tudó y Catalán, Alemany y Luesia, primera condesa de Castillo Fiel, primera vizcondesa de Rocafuerte), also known as Pepita Tudó (19 May 1779 - 20 September 1869) was the mistress of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Prime Minister

Manuel de Godoy Manuel Godoy y Álvarez de Faria, Prince of the Peace, 1st Duke of Alcudia, 1st Duke of Sueca, 1st Baron of Mascalbó (12 May 17674 October 1851) was First Secretary of State of Spain from 1792 to 1797 and from 1801 to 1808. He received many t ...

. It has been suggested she was the

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

for two paintings by

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...

, ''

La maja desnuda ''The Naked Maja'' or ''The Nude Maja'' ( es, La maja desnuda ) is an oil on canvas painting made around 1797–1800 by the Spanish artist Francisco de Goya, and is now in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. It portrays a nude woman reclining on a ...

'' (''The Naked Maja'') and ''

La maja vestida ''La maja vestida'' (English translation: ''The Clothed Maja'') is an oil painting on canvas created between 1800 and 1807 by the Spanish Romantic painter and printmaker Francisco Goya. It is a clothed version of the earlier ''La maja desnuda'', ...

'' (''The Clothed Maja'').The Clothed Maja
Museo del Prado

Biography

Tudó was born in

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

and she was always called "Pepita", a diminutive of Josefa. Her father was a gunner named Antonio de Tudó y Alemany who died when she was young. Since the age of sixteen, Pepita and her mother, Catalina Catalán y Luesia, and her sisters, Magdalena and Socorro, lived in the house of

, one of the most powerful men in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Pepita was his lover by 1800. However, the

Queen of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

María Luisa Maria Luisa may refer to: People * Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (1667–1743), last lineal descent of the House of Medici * Maria Luisa Ambrosini (20th century), non-fiction author * Maria Luisa, Duchess of Lucca , succession = Queen con ...

, forced Godoy to marry María Teresa de Borbón y Vallabriga, Countess of Chinchón, a marriage which was favorable to Godoy for social reasons. The marriage did not end Godoy's relationship with Pepita; in 1805, she gave birth to a son, Manuel, and in 1807, she gave birth to another son, Luis. In 1807, under Godoy's influence,

Carlos IV , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles III of Spain , mother =Maria Amalia of Saxony , birth_date =11 November 1748 , birth_place =Palace of Portici, Portici, Naples , death_date = , death_place ...

presented Pepita with the title of Countess of Castillo Fiel and Viscountess of Rocafuerte. When María Teresa died in November 1828, Godoy and Pepita could finally marry, even though they had secretly performed a marriage ceremony years earlier. The following year or still in December 1828, Godoy and Pepita married. The Pope made him 1st Principe di Paserano; however, they moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1832 where they lived in somewhat straitened circumstances. Godoy was later given a pension by

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

. Later, Pepita returned to Spain in hopes of reclaiming the family properties. At ninety years old, Pepita told a reporter that Godoy knew only one true love: Queen María Luisa. She died in 1869 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

In popular culture

Pepita is considered by many historians to be the model for one of Francisco de Goya's most notorious works, ''

''. The writer Ceferino Palencia wrote a play called ''Pepita Tudó'', obviously inspired by Pepita herself and cast his half-Scottish wife

Isabel Oyarzábal Smith Isabel Oyarzábal Smith (12 June 1878 in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain – 28 May 1974 Mexico City) was a Spanish-born journalist, writer, actress and diplomat, also known as Isabel de Palencia. Biography She had a Scottish mother, Anne Guthrie ...

in the titular role in the 1930s. Pepita Tudó was portrayed by

Penélope Cruz Penélope Cruz Sánchez (; ; born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. Known for her roles in films of several genres, particularly those in the Spanish language, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British A ...

in the 1999 film ''

Volavérunt ''Volavérunt'' is a 1999 French-Spanish historical drama film directed by Bigas Luna José Juan Bigas Luna (19 March 1946 – 5 April 2013) was a Spanish film director, designer and artist. His films are typically characterised by a strong ...

''.

Gallery

Image:Goya Maja naga2.jpg, La Maja Desnuda Image:Goya Maja ubrana2.jpg, La Maja Vestida

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tudo, Josefa 01 1779 births 1869 deaths Spanish countesses Josefa 01 Josefa 01 People from Cádiz Spanish artists' models Mistresses 18th-century Spanish women 19th-century Spanish women