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Primary sourcePainting1777

Portrait of Marie Antoinette, Queen of Fashion series

1777

A Dutch-language color print from 1777 showing Marie Antoinette in an oval frame. It belongs to a fashion series about her role as a trendsetter.

Shows Marie Antoinette as a fashion leader, the role her archive's subject was known for at court.

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Color print in an oval frame with a decorative border. A woman with powdered hair topped by white plumes and a blue bow, wearing a blue gown with gold fleur-de-lis and white fur trim, looks toward the viewer. Caption below reads Marie-Antoinette d'Autriche, Reine de France et de Navarre.
Marie Antoinette, Portrait of Marie Antoinette, Queen of Fashion series, 1777. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

About this source

What it is

This color print from 1777 shows Marie Antoinette in an oval frame with a decorative border. The print has Dutch-language text, and it is part of a fashion series about her role as a trendsetter. The Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands holds it. The museum record does not name the maker.

Why it matters

As queen of France, Marie Antoinette was expected to lead fashion. The museum's description of the series explains that she worked with her court dressmaker Rose Bertin and her hairdresser Léonard to introduce many new styles. Her informal, loose-fitting gown, called the chemise de la reine, was quickly copied by others. A print like this shows how the queen's image and style were shared beyond the palace, and how a royal wardrobe could set trends for many people.

Look closer

  • What do the woman's hairstyle, plumes and gown suggest about the fashions of her time?
  • Why would a series about a queen's clothing be made and shared with the public?
  • What does this single portrait leave out about the queen's private life or the workers who made her clothes?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Marie Antoinette on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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