Wednesday, April 6, 2016

La Reine en Gaulle

From Catherine Curzon:
Now, with this apparently simple portrait, the queen put ammunition into the hands of those who disliked her. There is no hint of structure, pomp or, crucially, monarchy evident on the canvas and when the public laid eyes on the portrait during its exhibition at the Salon de Paris, they were horrified. Rather than a woman in an informal garment and in informal setting, they found themselves looking at what appeared to be a portrait of a queen in her underwear. The work was quickly withdrawn and replaced with the quickly produced, far more formal portrait seen below. Although Marie Antoinette retains her rose, she is once more seen in her familiar structured court dress. (Read more.)
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1 comment:

julygirl said...

As today, the public opinion with all its callous stupidity, reigns supreme.