Oh, this painting makes me cry....

May be, but I find that she looks like more Polignac than Mrs Elisabeth. Elisabeth was not as fine as that, according to her portraits...

Actually, I have seen a drawing of Elisabeth with that exact pose and hairdo. And Elisabeth did spend money on clothes, especially shoes. And there is a Vigee-Lebrun portrait of Elisabeth in a yellow dress. It must be somewhere on this board.....

I find these paintings of Elisabeth by lebrun :





I find that she has the face rounder than that of the woman than we see on the Caraud's painting.

That is why I though at first it was Lamballe, who had a narrower face. I tried to copy a painting of Elisabeth from the http://www.ladyreading.net site but alas I am too incompetent. But she more closely resembles the lady in the picture. Well, I am sure that someday we will research this painting and find out who it is!!!

The above picture - that could be the lady in the yellow dress, certainly. I am going to research the artist and find out.....

I think that Caraud intended the lady to be Madame de Lamballe, in spite of whomever we all think she looks like. Caraud did three Trianon paintings of Marie-Antoinette, one with Louis XVI and Madame de Lamballe, one with Madame de Lamballe reading to the queen (of this one there is no represenation that I can find - it is privately owned and being auctioned.) And the third is of the queen with Madame Royale... and probably Madame de Lamballe, again. The three paintings seem to be a tribute to the friendship of Marie-Antoinette and Madame de Lamballe - even though we know the queen was closer to Gabrielle.

Indeed Therese, seen under this angle this woman could be lamballe you're right

Here is a link to information on this artist, and a picture of the king and queen where one of the ladies is identified as Madame Lamballe - sorry I am unable to copy it!
http://artxchangenetwork.com/Artist.aspx?idPics=463

Ah yes indeed very beautiful painting also thank you!
I'm not able to copy the image too, the right click was blocked by the webmaster......strange

Yes, it is a beautiful painting! I am grateful that I was introduced to this artist today! But I do not know which of the ladies is which, except for the queen....

This painting with Antoinette sitting on the bench I knew already, and I found it very beautiful. On both paintings, she looks so Habsburg !

Still I think that Mme de Lamballe looks very different on this pics. She has powdered hair, looks more aristocratic and, most of all, older. On the contrary, this woman with Mousseline looks young and shy.

She really makes me think of Elisabeth, even if thinner. This could be an apologetical interpretation, after all. Those people were especially interested in Elisabeth and Mme de Lamballe for they both symbolized sacrifice. Forget about Mme de Polignac, she was too controversial a character for them.

Yes, I think you are right, Pimprenelle. These paintings are essentially about martyrdom. Poor Gabrielle is too controversial!! Maybe it is Madame Royale taking leave of her Maman, kissing her goodbye, and going with Madame Elisabeth, as later she would say farewell to her mother and be alone with her aunt. It is a prophetic picture, containing the past, present and future.

Here are some pics from Olivier Blanc's new book :

A portrait of the queen by Boze, which I had never seen in colours. According to the writer, this picture is quite resembling. Her eyes are wonderful ! She is so impressive, so royal ! No doubt, it could be a reason why Marie Antoinette preferred Mme Vigee's paintings, that are softer...


A bust of Mme de Polignac by Pajou.

And a portrait of Gabrielle, maybe by Vestier (?), that I did not know yet.

Splendid thank you Pim!

This book is really nice!