- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Character Design - Lucrezia Borgia
Written by Miyu
Spoiled, selfish ? But perhaps cruel and ruthless are the right words to describe Lucrecia Borgia. One of the side antagonists to Ezio’s life and journey in Assassins Creed Brotherhood. Much like her brother Cesare Borgia, she was a historical figure featured in the game as one of the high ranking Templars in the main story.
Lucrezia Borgia was born on April 18, 1480 in a small town near Rome called Subiaco. Her father was Pope Alexander VI aka Rodrigo Borgia, and her mother was one of his mistresses, Vannozza Dei Cattanei, The Countess of Cattanei. There is speculation that she was often subjected to sexual abuse, with accusations of her being abused by her brother and father. This was never confirmed but one of her interactions with Caterina Sforza early in the game references this, with Lucrezia slapping Caterina as a result.
Designed by Vincent Gaigneux in 2010 for Assassins Creed Brotherhood, along with her brother Cesare Borgia. Before her finalized design she was drawn with a simple dress. With her first design showing her wearing a lighter red off the shoulder dress with short puffy sleeves, and floor length being more in volume.
With her final design showing her wearing a floor length gown with puffy and long sleeves. Instead of a usual empire waistline she wears a waistline that gives the silhouette of a corset, making her look slimmer and regal. Even as royalty she must flaunt her wealth as she wears a white collar that gives the shape of a peacock's feather, along with the small details of a simple lace choker and a silver cross necklace adorned with red jewels, most likely being a ruby or garnet. With small details on her face such as purple eye and red lip makeup.
Her colour palette consists mainly of red with touches of white and gold, the only other colour being silver on her necklace. With the symbolism of the colour being well represented with red contrasting her blonde hair perfectly, as red also represents her power that she has from her high status as she later in life became the Duchess of Ferrara. Not to mention red also being a colour highly associated with the Templars . The gold represents her wealth as being the child of a high ranking pope. Owning gold was highly valuable and often worn by royalty during that time period.
It’s best to say that Lucrezia Borgia was designed very well, which contrasts her family and her role in Ezio’s story.
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