Madame du Barry

Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842) was one of the most successful portrait painters of the 18th century, known for her portraits of Marie-Antoinette and the French aristocracy. Madame du Barry from 1782 depicts the last mistress of Louis XV in a portrait that transforms the notorious courtesan into a figure of aristocratic elegance. Vigée Le Brun's treatment demonstrates her ability to find the flattering angle for any sitter—even one whose reputation was as controversial as du Barry's—while maintaining the compositional elegance and tonal subtlety that distinguish her best portraiture.

Vigée Le Brun's portrait of Madame du Barry is important in the history of women's portraiture because it demonstrates the political complexity of painting a woman whose reputation was as controversial as du Barry's. The portrait transforms the last royal mistress into a figure of aristocratic elegance, demonstrating Vigée Le Brun's ability to navigate the political complexities of aristocratic portraiture with both tact and artistic skill.

Madame du Barry is Vigée Le Brun navigating aristocratic portraiture's political complexities: the last mistress of Louis XV transformed into a figure of aristocratic elegance. The 1782 portrait combines likeness with the compositional elegance that Versailles demanded.