Portraits of Marie Antoinette

Portrait of the Archduchess Marie Antoinette by Martin van Meytens the Younger, 1767-1768 (Schonbrunn Castle, Vienna)

In the many portraits of Marie Antoinette, she is portrayed with smooth, white skin, blonde hair, pretty blue eyes, a high forehead, and an aqualine nose. In the Portrait of the Archduchess Marie Antoinette by Martin van Meytens the Younger shown above, painted before she left for the French court, she seems to be perfection personified.

In spite of this lovely image, it's been said that Marie Antoinette was not considered especially beautiful. Apparently, her "Habsburg jaw and prominent nose were a bit heavy for eighteenth-century taste" (Source: "The Art of Dress" by Aileen Riberio, Yale University Press, 1995). As well, there are few images of MA in profile because she was self-conscious about her aqualine nose.

In the letters between Marie Antoinette and her mother (1770-1780), she makes several references to the portraits being painted of her and that she does not think they have achieved a proper likeness. Here are two extracts from her letters to her mother:

Marie Antoinette to Maria Theresa, 13 August 1773
"I am being painted, right now; it is true that no painter has yet caught the way I look: I would happily give all I own to anyone who could express in a portrait all the joy I would feel in seeing my dear Mama; how hard it is to be able to kiss her only by letter." (page 117).

Marie Antoinette to Marie Theresa, 16 November 1774
"The painters kill me and make me despair. I delayed the courier so as to allow my portrait to be finished; it has just been brought to me; it looks so little like me that I cannot send it. I hope to have a good one next month." (page 155)

(Source: Secrets of Marie Antoinette by Olivier Bernier, 1985)

As an artist, I know how difficult it is to achieve a likeness when painting a portrait. And even if all the features are precisely in place, considerable skill is required to capture the spirit of the sitter and translate that onto canvas. I wonder if the portrait artists mentioned in Marie Antoinette's letters failed to flatter her sufficiently to win her approval or were lacking in sufficient skill to capture her likeness.

After her mother's death, Marie Antoinette sat for several portraits with Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun. One of her portraits of Queen Marie Antoinette was exhibited at the Salon of 1783 and depicted the Queen wearing a chemise gown causing tremendous controversy. The portrait was withdrawn. To read more about Madame Vigee Le Brun, please refer to my earlier posting on the subject.

Queen Marie-Antoinette by E.L. Vigee-Lebrun, 1783, National Gallery of Art, Washington

I'd hazard a guess that Marie Antoinette would not have liked the contemporary portraits of her painted by Elizabeth Peyton.

Lies We Tell Our Mothers....

Official Portrait of Marie Antoinette by Gautier d'Agoty (1775)

Marie Antoinette often ignored her mother's written admonitions about her dress and hair at the French court. (Who can blame Marie Antoinette given that her mother used her as a political pawn in the chessboard of Europe?) However, in two letters, she attempts to answer her mother's criticisms.

Marie Antoinette to Maria Theresa
Versailles, 17 March 1775

"It is true that I take some care of the way I dress; and, as for feathers, everyone wears them, and it would seem extraordinary not to wear them. Their height has been much curtailed since the end of the balls..."
(page 160)

Marie Antoinette to Maria Theresa
Marly, 13 June 1776

"I wasn't able to have the drawings of the coiffures before the courier left; my dear Mama must have received them through the baron de Breteuil's courier. Coiffures for women of a certain age are like all other articles of clothing and adornment, except for rouge, which old women still wear here and often more than the young ones. For the rest, after forty-five, they wear softer, less noticeable colors, the dresses are less closely fitting and heavier, the hair is less curled, and the coiffures are less high."
(page 192)


Source: Secrets of Marie Antoinette by Olivier Bernier, Doubleday & Company, NY 1985

Marie Antoinette's Mother Warned her about Extremes in Fashion

In at least three separate letters, the Empress Maria Theresa reprimanded her daughter Marie Antoinette for her extravagant and extreme sartorial selections.


Maria Theresa to Marie Antoinette
Vienna 5 March 1775
"In the same way I can't prevent myself raising a point which many gazettes repeat all too often: it is the coiffure you use; they say that from the forehead up it is thirty-six inches high, and with so many feathers and ribbons to adorn it! You know that I always have thought that fashion should be followed moderately, without ever exaggerating them. A young and pretty Queen, who is full of attractions, doesn't need all these follies; on the contrary, the simplicity of your adornment will show you off better and is more suitable to the rank of a Queen." (page 159)



Maria Theresa to Marie Antoinette
Vienna 30 May 1776

"Madame my dear daughter, ....You have forgotten the drawings showing how you dress; we are being shown outfits so exaggerated that I cannot believe that the Queen, my daughter, should wear the like. Please also add how women of a certain age are arranged; it is not that I want to be critical, but I cannot believe that reasonable people dress as we are told over here, and I want to defend the French nation and only attribute these childish displays to the young, with whom one must be indulgent." (page 190)



Maria Theresa to Marie Antoinette
Schonbrunn, 30 June 1776

"Madame my dear daughter....I am delighted that you go on with your reading and your music; they are necessary resources, especially so for you. I must say that the drawings of the French outfits are very extraordinary; I can't believe that they are actually worn, and even less at Court." (page 194)


Source: Secrets of Marie Antoinette, by Olivier Bernier, Doubleday & Co, 1985

Marie Antoinette's Schedule in 1770

Extract of Letter from Marie Antoinette to Maria Theresa
Choisy, 12 July 1770

"Your Majesty is kind enough to take an interest in me and you even want to know how I spend my days. I will tell you, therefore, that I get up at ten, or at nine, or at nine-thirty, and that, having been dressed, I say my morning prayers; then I breakfast and then go to my aunts, where I usually find the King. That goes on until ten-thirty; after that, at eleven, I go to have my hair dressed.

At twelve they call in the chamber, and then anyone can come in as long as they belong to the Court. I put on my rouge and wash my hands in front of everyone; then the men leave and the ladies stay and I dress in front of them. At noon, we have Mass. If the King is at Versailles, I accompany him, my husband, and my aunts to the Mass; if he's away, I go along with M. le Dauphin, but always at the same time. After Mass we have dinner together in public, but it is over by one-thirty because we both eat very quickly.

From there I go to M. le Dauphin's apartment and, if he's busy, I come back to mine, I read, write, or work since I am embroidering a waistcoat for the King which hasn't progressed much, but I hope that with God's grace, it will be finished in a few years. At three I go back to my aunts', whom the King visits at that time; at four the abbe comes to see me, at five, everyday, I have a singing or harpsichord teacher until six.

At six-thirty, I almost always go to my aunts' when I do not go for a walk; you must know that my husband almost always accompanies me to my aunts'. At seven we sit down to cards until nine, but when the weather is nice, I go for a walk, and then the card playing takes place not in my apartment but in my aunts'. At nine we have supper, and when the King is away, my aunts come and have supper with us, but when the King is there, we go to their apartments after supper and wait for him; he usually comes at ten forty-five, but, while waiting for him, I lie down on a large sofa and sleep until he arrives; if he's away, we go to bed by eleven. That is out whole day. As for what we do on Sundays and holidays, I will keep it for another time."

Source: "Secrets of Marie Antoinette" by Olivier Bernier, published by Doubleday (New York, 1985) pages 40-41


Marie Antoinette's Daily Schedule In Summary:

9-1030 am Wakeup, get dressed in an informal gown, say morning prayers, eat light breakfast, and go to aunts room

11 am Have hair dressed
1130 am Toilette in presence of the court

12 noon Mass

1230-130 Dinner with M. Le Dauphin in public
130-3 pm Embroidery, reading, writing

3 pm Visit with aunts, where the King visits
4 pm Visit with abbe de Vermond
5 pm Music lesson with vocal or harpsichord teacher

630 pm Walk or visit with aunts
7 pm Card playing
9 pm Supper
11 pm To bed