Portrait of Marie Gabrielle de Gramont, Duchesse de Caderousse

Elisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun was among the best known women painters of the 18th century. Like the Duchesse de Caderousse, who is portrayed in this portrait, she became a personal friend of the French Queen Marie Antoinette (1755—1793). In her memoirs, Le Brun recalls persuading the Duchesse not to powder her hair, as was the custom, so as to show off her dark ebony locks. Dressed as a peasant girl with a basket of fruit, the Duchesse reflects the fashion of rustic simplicity introduced by Marie Antoinette herself in her model farm at Versailles, the seat of the French court.