![]() The equestrian aspect was eventually abandoned. In 1771, at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre (1713-1789) - the First Painter to the King and director of the Royal Academy of Painting - Duplessis (the “Van Dyck of the French School”) was invited to paint an equestrian portrait of Marie-Antoinette. The remarkable posture of the head, the freshness of the complexion, and the powdery blondness of her hair soften the image. The artist, an expert in realistic painting, seized on the core traits of his model’s physiognomy: the prominent eyes, the rounded forehead, the Austrian lip, and the strong Hapsburg chin. This work by Joseph Siffred Duplessis (1725-1802) shows the natural and very youthful face of Dauphine Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793) by a painter who was an outsider of court, and who was not preoccupied with flattering his model. IN DISCUSSION WITH GWENOLA FIRMIN Gwenola Firmin, head heritage curator of 18th-century paintings at the Palace of Versailles, on the exceptional story of how the Palace acquired this portrait.Ĭan you describe this painting in a few sentences? Versailles, Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793) dauphine (Dauphine Marie-Antoinette) - Joseph Siffred Duplessis (1725-1802) This acquisition is part of the Palace’s commitment to enrich its collection of 18th-century portraits. But the Dauphine rejected the painting, doubtless because Duplessis had too accurately painted certain aspects of the physiognomy of the future queen, notably her Austrian lip. In his commitment to the truth, Duplessis painted the young Marie-Antoinette as her most natural self. ![]() Pierre de Nolhac, curator of the Palace of Versailles, acquired this “first idea” of a sketch in 1936, commenting, “this study, this unfinished painting, provides a solid impression of youth with an undeniable truth.” The painting acquired by the Palace today was based on this sketch. A preparatory sketch conserved in the Palace of Versailles preserves the image that the painter wanted to hand down to posterity, and that he could use as a reference for other representations of the Dauphine, whether for a bust or an equestrian portrait. Joseph Ducreux (1735- 1802) and François Hubert Drouais (1727-1775) number among the first - but Duplessis sketched her face as early as 1771. ![]() There is a rich history of portraits of the Dauphine and then Queen Marie-Antoinette, with several painters trying their hand at translating the Archduchess of Austria’s features onto canvas. It lays a crucial foundation for the future queen’s public image. This rare, signed artwork is the first portrait of Marie-Antoinette done in France, showing the fresh, young face of the Dauphine. Do you have to like it? No.Thanks to the support of the Société des Amis de Versailles, the Palace of Versailles just acquired an oil painting of Dauphine Marie-Antoinette by the painter Joseph Siffred Duplessis that had never before been in public view. She looks at the viewer with confidence as if to tell them: “I’m looking at you you are not looking at me”. paintings, the Queen looks back at us with a defiant and unabashed stare. Marie Antoinette’s head can be cut off a hundred times, but she keeps coming back again and again in different shapes and forms.īattifora’s paintings are a celebration of unashamed fabulousness and the power in reinventing oneself and becoming what we want others to see. This yearning for individualistic expression through social media is something we see today around the world. Living in a male-dominated society she found her voice and power by reinventing herself. Battifora sees her as perhaps the “first” influencer in modern history. She is a modern-day metaphor for controversy, luxury, abundance, and an unapologetic love of beautiful things in a time when more and more people are obsessed with celebrities, politicians, selfies, and influencers. Look around……įor the last 7 years Battifora has been inspired by the iconic woman, Marie Antoinette. These types of critiques can be said about anyone, even about you. The over-the-top dress that inspired thousands of other dresses, and the excessive jewelry she’s criticized for are flaunted unabashedly. In plain black and white the big hair we know her for is on full display. A large-scale black, white and gold regency era-inspired pointillism figurative painting of Marie Antoinette.
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