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Pierre-Hubert Subleyras.jpg

Pierre-Hubert Subleyras’
‘The Pack Saddle’ (1735) paints the scene depicted in Jean de La Fontaine’s (1621 – 1695) bawdy poem, ‘The Pack Saddle’.

Story: Jean de La Fontaine, the great French fabulist of the seventeenth century, wrote the story of a jealous painter who suspects that his wife is cheating on him.
To avoid infidelity, the artist paints his wife a donkey in the mons pubis as a stamp. But when he leaves, the woman's lover appears, who coincidentally is also a painter.
As the oil of the pubis takes a little while to dry, the image of the donkey fades during intercourse. But the painter, believing himself capable of copying the style of the cuckold, returns to paint the image of the donkey in the pubis of the wife, however, repainted the ass, adding a pack-saddle on the animal. So when the husband returns, he will discover the deception.

And here the poem ...

A FAMOUS painter, jealous of his wife;
Whose charms he valued more than fame or life,
When going on a journey used his art,
To paint an ASS upon a certain part,
(Umbilical, 'tis said) and like a seal:
Impressive token, nothing thence to steal.

A BROTHER brush, enamoured of the dame;
Now took advantage, and declared his flame:
The Ass effaced, but God knows how 'twas done;
Another soon howe'er he had begun,
And finished well, upon the very spot;
In painting, few more praises ever got;
But want of recollection made him place
A saddle, where before he none could trace.

THE husband, when returned, desired to look
At what he drew, when leave he lately took.
Yes, see my dear, the wily wife replied,
The Ass is witness, faithful I abide.
Zounds! said the painter, when he got a sight,--
What!--you'd persuade me ev'ry thing is right?
I wish the witness you display so well,
And him who saddled it, were both in Hell.


Picture: Courtesy of the State Hermitage Museum
 
We didn't do that one in school! :)

The original, like most of la Fontaine's Contes, was a cleverly constructed sonnet:

VIII. — LE BAST.

Un peintre estoit, qui, jaloux de sa femme,
Allant aux Champs lui peignit un baudet
Sur le nombril, en guise de cachet.
Un sien confrere, amoureux de la Dame,
La va trouver, et l’asne efface net ;
Dieu sçait comment ; puis un autre en remet
Au mesme endroit, ainsi que l’on peut croire.
A celuy-cy, par faute de memoire,
Il mit un Bast ; l’autre n’en avait point.
L’Epoux revient, veut s’éclaircir du poinct.
Voyez, mon fils, dit la bonne commere,
L’asne est témoin de ma fidelité.
Diantre soit fait, dit l’Epoux en colere
Et du témoin, et de qui l’a basté.

I think it involves a pun on bast = 'pack-saddle' and basté 'cuckolded' ;)

The English version cleverly keeps up the rollicking rhythm and rhyme,
but has some 'fillers' to make that possible. I've not tracked down the translator,
it appears in T. R. Smith, compiler, Poetica Erotica: Rare and Curious Amatory Verse. 1921–22,
a splendid anthology that can be found on-line.
 
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