Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France (1755-1793) Miniature after (apres) the painting by Vigee Le Brun, c. 1783, at Versailles "Marie-Antoinette with the Rose" Excellent but unsigned miniature painted in early 1800s after the arguably most famous portrait of Marie-Antoinette, done in c.1783 by M-A's most favored portraitist, Vigee Le Brun (daughter of Charles Le Brun). The miniature is such a splendid one. Many were done after this painting, to varying degrees of accomplishment, and were offered to both her supporters and, later on, to Grand Tour travelers as a memento they could buy and take home. Many artists whose work later is included in the Louvre and D'Orsay did some of these small paintings to survive, and we'll never know which passing through our hands might have been by which of those. And of course there were highly noted artists whose entire body of work consists of these portrait miniatures. Prior to 1838, this was the only way to capture a likeness. Until the invention of the Daguerreotype, only hand painted portraits were available to memorialize someone. This little copy after the very large portrait is an exceptionally fine one, captures the features of France's ill-fated Queen.
Very good to excellent condition throughout. In original frame, there is no crack, warp, chip nor paint loss and the cover glass is the old original. Backing is vellum, still in place. Frame is simple, but also elegant and protects its subject well. A superior painting for a sophisticated collection. Or a wonderful painting for your antique doll house walls, too.
