Duchesse de Guiche

1784

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

As the daughter of Marie Antoinette’s friend Yolande de Polignac, the duchesse de Guiche (1768–1803) enjoyed the queen’s support and the king’s protection, receiving from him a dowry of eight hundred thousand livres at her wedding. Marie Antoinette often invited the young woman to perform in the theater at the Petit Trianon. She wears the chemise dress, with bodice and bows in complementary colors, of a shepherdess or milkmaid. Her pose, with head bent forward and tapered fingers at her breast, likely pays homage to her talent as an actress.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Exhibition History

Title: Duchesse de Guiche
Artist: Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, Paris 1755–1842 Paris)
Date: 1784
Medium: Pastel on two pieces of paper, joined, laid down on canvas
Dimensions: Oval, 31 3/4 × 25 1/4 in. (80.5 × 64 cm)
Frame: 34 7/16 × 32 1/16 × 2 3/4 in. (87.5 × 81.5 × 7 cm)
Classification: Pastels & Oil Sketches on Paper
Credit Line: Private collection
Curatorial Department: European Paintings