In Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction, Cazotte, an artist, is tasked to awaken a prince’s urge to have a love life and later handle a scandal in the kingdom. The movie is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
While painting a portrait of the Grand Duchess of the Kingdom of Babenhausen, Cazotte impresses her by talking about how art and seduction take time. The Grand Duchess is flattered, though he has rejected her advances.
Cazotte is invited to the grand ball, where he first sees Ehrengard, the daughter of General Schreckenstein. She looks at the portrait of the Grand Duchess and says that it looks just like her, but at the same time, nothing like her.
Cazotte is taken away by her comment. Even he agrees that art should be something that one cannot make sense of. During the ball, Cazotte keeps staring at Ehrengard and starts drawing a sketch of her in his book.
The Grand Duchess takes note of it. She encourages Cazotte to confess who he is looking at; she is not jealous; she likes hearing about the passions of human beings.
Apart from that, the Grand Duchess also has a task for Cazotte. The former Grand Duke was childless. The Grand Duchess’ husband secured the throne after winning a feud with his cousins.
The Grand Duke is gravely ill, and they can’t do anything. The Grand Duke’s cousin, Count Marbod, and his wife, Countess Orsyla, have their eyes set on the throne.
To keep the throne to themselves, the Grand Duchess wants her son, Prince Lothar, to marry a suitable wife soon. Prince Lothar can only inherit the throne if he is married. However, Prince Lothar isn’t interested in marrying yet.
They are running out of time, and if something happens to the Grand Duke, his cousin will not waste time in taking the throne away from them.
The Grand Duchess wants Cazotte to awaken her son’s passion for lovemaking. When the Grand Duchess requests him to name a price, Cazotte asks her to arrange a meeting with Ehrengard; he plans to paint a portrait of her. The two agree.
Cazotte starts meeting Prince Lothar, who doesn’t want to sacrifice his freedom by getting married. Cazotte convinces him that what he considers a prison is actually freedom too.
Cazotte tickles the prince’s fantasies by showing him sketches of what a love life looks like. With the Grand Duchess’ permission, Cazotte takes the Prince to the castle in Leuchenstein, where Cazotte lights a fire between Prince Lothar and Princess Ludmilla.
Prince Lothar and Princess Ludmilla fall in love and prepare to get married. The Grand Duchess is happy. Unfortunately, she failed to get General Schreckenstein’s permission to have a portrait painted of Ehrengard.
Cazotte is fine with it. He doesn’t accept the payment but does come to the wedding. A new problem arises after the marriage. Princess Ludmilla gets pregnant, but she will be giving birth to the baby in four months, not nine, which means the baby was conceived before the marriage.
Prince Lothar will be disinherited if this comes to light. The Grand Duchess asks for Cazotte’s help again. Cazotte thinks of keeping the princess in the dark, away from the eyes of the people.
Cazotte prepares a perfect plan to do so. The happy news will be shared in September. Until then, on the advice of the court physician, Princess Ludmilla will have to keep herself in bed and live in utmost tranquility.
People can see Princess Ludmilla only after five or six months of the child’s birth. Cazotte also believes that Princess Ludmilla will need a special lady-in-waiting, and he thinks Ehrengard is the perfect choice.
Ehrengard is allowed to serve the kingdom. She joins Cazotte and the Grand Duchess’ staff after bidding goodbye to her fiancé, Kurt.
Cazotte is ambitious about seducing Ehrengard, but the Grand Duchess warns Cazotte that she comes from a very stern race; he won’t get anywhere near her.
Since Cazotte is so sure, the Grand Duchess puts in a wager. If Cazotte wins the heart of Ehrengard, the Grand Duchess guarantees him lifelong employment at the court, and if he fails, he must not reject the Grand Duchess’ advances. The two agree.
Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction ending explained in detail:
Does the news about the baby get out?
Princess Ludmilla, Cazotte, Ehrengard, and the Grand Duchess’ staff spend time at the secluded Rosenbad. While Princess Ludmilla and Prince Lothar wait for their baby, things between Ehrengard and Cazotte progress slowly.
The Grand Duke’s cousin, Count Marbod, and his wife, Countess Orsyla, suspect something is cooking. They attempt to visit Rosenbad. Even though they fail to meet the princess, they stay nearby.
Princess Ludmilla gives birth to a healthy child. The Grand Duchess comes and celebrates, but she doesn’t stay any longer, knowing that the Marbods have eyes on her.
Cazotte hires a wet nurse for Princess Ludmilla. The wet nurse joins the Grand Duchess’ staff against her husband’s wishes. Count Marbod and Countess Orsyla had paid a local for some inside information.
They manage to get in touch with the wet nurse’s husband, who reveals that there is already a baby at the castle. Count Marbod and Countess Orsyla task the nurse’s husband to kidnap the child. They promise that he will get his wife back and will be given a prominent position at the court once they seize the throne.
Does Ehrengard learn about Cazotte’s plan?
Cazotte joins Ehrengard on her adventures and attempts to keep her happy by doing things such as allowing her to have her own horse at Rosenbad.
Cazotte gets lucky when he sees Ehrengard bathing in the forest lake. He starts painting a picture of the scenario, which, according to him, is magical and picturesque.
Cazotte never touches Ehrengard. He approaches her with gifts and seduces her. Early in the morning, he visits the lake every day to catch a glimpse of her bathing to complete his picture.
Ehrengard eventually catches Cazotte coming from the lake. Cazotte attempts not to raise any suspicions. However, later, Ehrengard overhears Cazotte and the Grand Duchess’ conversation.
Cazotte talks about creating a genuine connection between him and Ehrengard rather than approaching seduction the old-fashioned way, and how his painting will play a role in this.
After hearing this, Ehrengard quickly goes to Cazotte’s room, witnesses the painting he has painted of her, and comes across the book that has sketches of her. She keeps the book with herself and leaves to pour out her frustrations in the forest.
Does Count Marbod expose the Grand Duchess?
In the forest, Ehrengard crosses paths with the wet nurse’s husband, who regrets his actions. After hearing what he has done, Ehrengard instructs him to go with the original plan; she will take care of the rest.
The Marbods have insisted on paying a visit. The best the Grand Duchess can do is welcome them for a picnic at Rosenbad in order to keep them away from the castle and the noise of the baby.
Before the picnic, Ehrengard lets Cazotte know that she is aware of him coming to the forest to see her, his paintings, and the sketches. She slides his book into his pocket, unbeknownst to him, as she invites him for a private meeting after the picnic.
During the picnic, the wet nurse’s husband shows up after kidnapping the baby and makes everyone run after him. Everyone arrives at the wet nurse’s house, where Ehrengard reveals that the baby is hers and Cazotte’s.
Ehrengard shows proof in the form of a sketchbook that Cazotte has. The book has her sketches. At the same time, Ehrengard’s fiancé, Kurt, who has been stationed nearby, arrives there too, and sees what’s going on.
Do Ehrengard and Cazotte end up together?
While the revelations convince the Marbods, they infuriate Kurt, who forces Cazotte to a duel. Ehrengard manages to convince Kurt to let Cazotte go.
Ehrengard used Cazotte to protect the baby and the Grand Duchess’ throne. A year after Prince Lothar and Princess Ludmilla’s marriage, when their baby is baptized, Ehrengard wears a light-blue ribbon of the Order of Saint Stephan, which is an order given in recognition of her services to the kingdom.
Cazotte receives no order. He is forced to sleep with the Grand Duchess, as he fails to win Ehrengard’s heart. Cazotte later moves to Rome. There, he receives several assignments that further develop his artistic talent, and an alias is given to him; he is called Casanova.
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