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Royal Portraits Through History: A Queen's Public Image in French Courts

Explore the public representation of queens in the French court through portraits, media coverage, and commemorative items. From Louis XIV to Marie Antoinette, discover the evolution of royal iconography and the challenges of portraying queens alongside kings. Uncover how political relations and media shaped the perception of queens like Marie Antoinette, facing scrutiny and public opinion through art and propaganda.

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Royal Portraits Through History: A Queen's Public Image in French Courts

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  1. Representing a Queen The Public Presentation of a Private Life

  2. Portraits, Images, Likenesses • A medium of exchange • Political public relations – from the Court • Media coverage – from outside the Court • Commemoratives

  3. Medium of Exchange • Pastel portrait by Joseph Ducreux • Sent to Louis XV to “seal the deal” on the engagement of the Dauphin to Marie Antoinette

  4. Medium of Exchange • Portrait by Joseph Krantzinger (1771) sent to Maria Theresa • One of her favorites • Warned her daughter not to use such portraits as public representations – were reserved for the private realm • Kept this likeness of Marie Antoinette in her boudoir

  5. Portraits, Images, Likenesses • Took many forms • Formal court portraits • Informal familial portraits • Caricatures • Commemorative coins • Engravings on furniture, porcelain • Statues, busts • Royal iconography (ex: monograms)

  6. Official Portraits Louis XIV Louis XV

  7. Official Portraits Marie Leszczyska Louis XV

  8. Official Portraits Marie Antoinette Louis XVI

  9. Queen’s Portrait • Queen’s portrait was intended to be a companion to that of the king • It points not to her own power, but to that of her husband • It highlights the defining quality of queenship – a queen of France existed only in relationship to the king and not in and of herself • The problem of making a public portrait of the queen in how to show the king’s force, not hers

  10. Queen as Companion

  11. Salon of 1784 Salon of 1784

  12. Salon • Salon was the official presentation of paintings • Favored historical and allegorical paintings over portraiture • Was becoming a school of virtue and morality; paintings were judged by their moral effect of their subject matter • Those judged best were paintings dedicated to great men, heroic actions and women sacrificed for their virtue

  13. Salon of 1783 • Portrait by Elisabeth Vigée LeBrun of Marie Antoinette en chemise • Judged scandalous at the time • Deemed inappropiate attire for a queen • Emphasized the queen of the Trianon – a space where the king was excluded

  14. She Was Neither the First Nor the Last to be Judged by What She Wore

  15. Rehabilitation - 1787 • Vigée Le Brun attempted to help Marie Antoinette restore her reputation after the scandal of the “en chemise” portrait • For PR purposes, they decided to play up her role as Mother • Portrait painted included Marie Antoinette and her children

  16. Power of the Pamphlets • Pamphlets succeeded in ruining her reputation precisely because they separated her from her husband • She became the sole target of their barbs • She was no longer his companion; she took on a life of her own which she really did not have

  17. Power of the Pamphlets

  18. Final Portrait • Sketch by Jacque-Louis David • 1793 • Marie Antoinette on her way to the scaffold • Stripped of everything

  19. David’s Sketch • 1793 • Portrait of a public woman vanquished • Stripped of all power • Being punished for her sins, both real and imagined

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