Portrait of Madame du Barry

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun painted this Portrait of Madame du Barry in 1781, depicting the former mistress of King Louis XV. The oil on canvas shows Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry, years after her royal lover's death in 1774. Vigée Le Brun described her as still attractive at about forty-five, with ash blonde curly hair "like a child's."

Vigée Le Brun painted du Barry multiple times, including versions in 1782 and 1789. The fact that Marie Antoinette's official portraitist would paint du Barry suggests how much the former courtesan's reputation had shifted since her scandal-ridden introduction to court. Born illegitimate, du Barry had been set up as a courtesan before catching the King's eye.

Both women met tragic ends during the Revolution. Du Barry was guillotined in 1793, buried in the same cemetery as Marie Antoinette. One portrait changed hands among French aristocracy before joining the Rothschild collection, selling at Christie's for $975,000 in 2019. This version hangs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.