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The Duchesse de Polignac in a Straw Hat

Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun French

1782

Not on view

Vigée Le Brun shows the duchess (1749–1793), a close friend of Marie Antoinette, bathed in pale golden light. She wears the straw hat and costume of an elegant courtier-shepherdess.

The queen and her circle had grown weary of the discomforts of the formal attire worn at Versailles. In the early 1780s, in private settings, they therefore abandoned their corsets and hoops for draped, loosely belted muslin chemise dresses, which were relaxed and natural.

The Duchesse de Polignac in a Straw Hat, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, Paris 1755–1842 Paris), Oil on canvas — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: The Duchesse de Polignac in a Straw Hat

Artist: Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, Paris 1755–1842 Paris)

Date: 1782

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 36 5/16 × 28 7/8 in. (92.2 × 73.3 cm)
Frame: 50 3/16 × 36 13/16 × 4 3/4 in. (127.5 × 93.5 × 12 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon (MV 8971)

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