Marie-Antoinette in Art

Portrait of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France (1755-1793), three-quarter-length, seated, at the Conciergerie, Paris, in mourning, with a cameo pendant portraying the Dauphin, holding a life of Mary, Queen of Scots, a bust of Louis XVI and the Testament of 23 December 1792 on the draped table beside inscribed ‘HIS.DE LA.M. DE STUAR[T]’ (lower centre, on the book)

The painting belongs to the Musée de Reims (yes, right in the middle of Champagne country) and the curators there took a close look at the eyes of the subject. They were brownish green! This in itself ruled out Marie-Antoinette, whose eyes were undoubtedly blue. The artist, Lié-Louis Périn-Salbreux, had been commissioned to paint portraits of several members of the royal family, and he would not have misrepresented such an important detail.

Furthermore the neck-high lace palatine (kerchief) worn by the model was typical of the attire of mature ladies. The date of the painting is attested as 1776. Marie-Antoinette was 21 then, and very fond of youthful attributes, clothing and companions. She would certainly never have sat for her portrait in what we would call “old lady’s clothes.”

So who is this lady in the blue dress? The setting of the portrait would seem to be the little library built at Versailles for Madame Sophie, daughter of Louis XV and aunt of Louis XVI. The room no longer exists, but its distinctive flooring was identified thanks to various engravings. So this is now considered a portrait of Madame Sophie, then aged 42. She died in 1782, a few years before the Revolution.

Indeed, according to Madame Campan‘s Memoirs, this is, along with the more famous portrait of the Queen with her children by Madame Vigee-Lebrun, the best likeness of Marie-Antoinette.

Madame Campan, as the Queen’s Premiere Femme de Chambre, or First Chambermaid, saw Marie-Antoinette on a daily basis. I trust her judgment on the matter of the likeness.

You can see a shift in the manner in which Marie-Antoinette chose to be depicted, one short year before the Revolution. For one thing, the emphasis is no longer on ornate dresses, giant paniers or shimmering fabrics. Neither is the Queen dressed “en gaulle,” in a simple white linen gown. That portrait, beautiful as it is, was the
subject of much derision. People remarked jokingly that the Queen had been painted in her chemise.

Here Marie-Antoinette seems to be wearing a simple riding habit. No accusations of immodesty can be made because her kerchief comes up to her chin.

The sobriety and dark colors of the clothing shift the attention to the Queen’s face. The features are also different from earlier images. The nose is less small and straight, the lips are thicker, the eyes more prominent than in Madame Lebrun’s idealized portraits.

But I read a lot of energy and determination in these eyes, no longer dreamy, in the manner in which the head is proudly held backwards. This is the Queen who will assume a foremost political role during the Revolution. I believe that Madame Campan is right. Here at last we get a glimpse of the real Marie-Antoinette.
http://blog.catherinedelors.com/marie-antoinettes-best-likeness/

Sophie wrote:The Queen at Trianon, relaxing I think the two other ladies must be Lamballe (right) and Polignac (left)...