Artifact World Gallery
Get the iOS app

Marie-Antoinette seated, in blue coat and white dress, holding a book in her hand by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun

Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun · 1788-01-01

Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun's 1788 portrait, *Marie-Antoinette seated, in blue coat and white dress, holding a book in her hand*, now at the Palace of Versailles, captures the Queen just a year before the dramatic start of the French Revolution.

The painting shows Marie Antoinette in luxurious attire, a blue velvet coat over a white silk dress, with a serene and composed expression. She holds a small red book, suggesting a moment of quiet contemplation amidst the opulence of her royal setting. Her feathered headdress and pearl necklace further emphasize her regal status.

Vigée Le Brun was Marie Antoinette's favored portraitist, known for blending Rococo elegance with emerging Neoclassical influences. This work stands as a testament to their enduring relationship, even as it unknowingly predates the immense upheaval that would soon engulf the monarchy.

Her calm demeanor in this portrait offers a poignant glimpse into a world on the brink of profound change.

Details

She wears a rich blue velvet coat and a white silk dress.
She wears a rich blue velvet coat and a white silk dress.
The luminous quality of the silk and its voluminous folds create a sense of elegance and grace.
The luminous quality of the silk and its voluminous folds create a sense of elegance and grace.
A clear symbol of royalty, its placement suggests the weight of her position.
A clear symbol of royalty, its placement suggests the weight of her position.
Transcript

This is Marie Antoinette, painted in 1788. She wears a rich blue velvet coat and a white silk dress. Her portraitist, Vigée Le Brun, was her favorite painter. Just one year later, the French Revolution began. Her calm expression here hides the approaching storm. Under her hand, she holds a small, red book.