The Marquise de Pezay,and the Marquise de Rougé with Her Sons Alexis and Adrien
Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
1787
Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, the favorite portraitist of Marie Antoinette, painted this charming double portrait of two close friends and their children in 1787. The women are dressed in fashionable, rustic-inspired muslin dresses and oversized hats, a style that actually caused quite a scandal at the French court for being too informal. Notice the tender way the children cling to their mothers—one even resting his chin on a knee—capturing a rare moment of genuine maternal warmth in 18th-century portraiture. It's a beautiful example of late Rococo elegance mixed with a new, natural sensibility.
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York