Shop art print and framed art Marie-Antoinette de Lorraine-Habsbourg, reine de France et ses enfants by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun

Marie Antoinette et ses enfants, also known as Marie Antoinette de Lorraine-Habsbourg, Queen of France, and her children, is an oil painting by French artist Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, painted in 1787 and exhibited at the Château de Versailles. It measures 275 × 216 cm. In July 1785, Marie-Antoinette's reputation was tarnished by the diamond necklace affair. Despite her lack of personal involvement in the affair, public opinion turned against her. In an effort to improve public perception of the Queen that year, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun was commissioned by Louis XVI to paint an official portrait of Marie-Antoinette aimed at making her more sympathetic. The emphasis was to be on Marie-Antoinette as queen and, more importantly, as mother", so the painting shows her surrounded by her children and wearing small jewels. To further engage the public's sympathy, Vigée Le Brun left an empty cradle in place of the queen's youngest child, Sophie-Béatrice, who had died shortly before the painting was completed,". The first public exhibition of the painting was to take place at the Salon in August 1787. However, due to Marie-Antoinette's unpopularity at the time and fears that the painting might be damaged, Vigée Le Brun refused to send it. Nevertheless, the royal administration insisted that she do so and the painting was exhibited anyway, the public reaction being mixed. After the Salon, until June 1789, it was exhibited in the Salon de Mars at the Château de Versailles. During the [...]

 

This artwork is a painting from the classical period. It belongs to the rococo style.

 

« Marie-Antoinette de Lorraine-Habsbourg, reine de France et ses enfants » is kept at Château de Versailles, Versailles, France.

 

Find the full description of Marie-Antoinette de Lorraine-Habsbourg, reine de France et ses enfants by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun on Wikipedia.