QUEENS, FAVOURITES AND PRINCESSES At The French Court with Jennifer Milam

This lecture explores portraits of high-ranking women at the court of Versailles during the reign of Louis XV and Louis XVI. In particular, it looks at the agency of women, who were not always responsible for payments to the artist, but nevertheless exerted influence over the creation and reception of their images both at court and in the salons.

Specifically, the lecture looks at portraits of Queen Marie-Leczinska, the Marquise de Pompadour, Madame Adélaïde, and Queen Marie-Antoinette to consider the dialogue between artist, sitter and beholder in 18th century conceptions of womanhood.

Jennifer Milam is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art History at the University of Sydney. Her books include the Historical Dictionary of Rococo Art (2011), Fragonard’s Playful Paintings, Visual Games in Rococo Art (2006) and Women, Art and the Politics of Identity in 18th Century Europe (2003).

This lecture is kindly supported by The Friends of The Johnston Collection.

Elisabeth Vigée-LeBrun (1755-1842), Marie-Antoinette with her Children (1787), Musée National du Châteaux (Versailles)