Marie Antoinette, Queen of France
Artistafter
Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun
(French, 1755 – 1842)
Datec. 1788
MediumPastel
DimensionsFramed: 108 x 69 1/2 in. (274.3 x 176.5 cm)
Image: 87 1/2 x 56 1/2 in. (222.3 x 143.5 cm)
Image: 87 1/2 x 56 1/2 in. (222.3 x 143.5 cm)
ClassificationsPastels
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN383
This pastel is a copy of Vigée-Le Brun’s Portrait of Marie-Antoinette in a Blue Velvet Robe, painted in 1788 and now at Versailles. The portrait was so popular that many collectors wanted copies. Unable to respond to the flood of orders, the artist had copies executed by other artists. The pose of the queen is repeated from Vigée-Le Brun’s Portrait of Marie-Antoinette and her Children, also at Versailles, but here she is cast in the role of sovereign rather than mother. One year before the onset of the French Revolution (and her tragic downfall), she still seems very sure of herself, a majestic and imposing figure of royal authority. Observe the emblems of the monarchy: the royal blue dress and hat, and the royal coats of arms embossed on the book she holds, and the velvet cushion emblazoned with the symbol of France, the fleur-de-lys. The fleur-de-lys also appears throughout the work’s impressive, and original, frame.
On View
Not on viewCollections
Marie Adelaide Louise Duclos
1791
