Portrait of Marie-Antoinette with her children – Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1787)

🖼️ Portrait of Marie-Antoinette with her children – Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1787)
Hand-painted reproduction – By Alpha Reproduction

A queen, a mother, a woman of the people: Marie-Antoinette staged to reconcile the monarchy and the nation

Ordered in 1787, this majestic painting by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, official court painter, depicts Marie-Antoinette with her three surviving children:
– Marie-Thérèse Charlotte (Madame Royale),
– Louis-Joseph (the dauphin),
– and Louis-Charles (the future Louis XVII).

This work is a masterpiece of royal communication, executed at a time when the public image of the queen was severely damaged. It aims to present Marie-Antoinette no longer as a distant sovereign, but as a tender and protective mother, close to the people and concerned about the future of France.

An allegorical portrait, both intimate and solemn

A carefully coded staging

Marie-Antoinette is depicted in full regalia, seated in a Louis XVI style interior, wearing a deep red velvet dress, trimmed with ermine — a symbol of royalty.
By his side, his children surround him with affection :
– Louis-Joseph, standing, places his hand on an empty chair — a poignant allusion to little Sophie, the fourth child who died in infancy.
– Louis-Charles, a happy baby, is on his knees.
– Marie-Thérèse, the eldest, stands on the right, holding her mother's arm.

The background of the painting evokes monarchical stability, with columns, draperies, and soft light. The composition reprises that of the Virgin and Child of religious painting, to associate Marie-Antoinette with the icon of the loving and sacrificial mother.

A political portrait at the heart of the monarchical crisis

This painting was presented at the Salon of 1787 at the Louvre in a tense political context. Criticized for her frivolity, Austrian origin, and distance from the people, Marie-Antoinette seeks here to restore her image as a mother and guarantor of the royal lineage.
Vigée Le Brun manages to blend maternal tenderness and monarchical grandeur, in a work that is as much a court painting as an elegant propaganda tool.

Hand-painted reproduction – By Alpha Reproduction

A monumental work recreated with nobility, emotion, and precision

At Alpha Reproduction, this painting is entirely hand-painted in oil on canvas, with strict respect for the proportions, textures, expressions, and soft light that make Vigée Le Brun famous.

Our artists faithfully reproduce:

• The calm and serious face of Marie-Antoinette

• The lively and affectionate attitude of the children

• The richness of the costume and fabrics, in velvet, silk, and ermine

• The symbolic composition with empty chair, classical architecture, and balanced light

📜 Certificate of authenticity provided
📐 Customizable formats – stretched or rolled canvas
🖼️ Louis XVI gilded frame, Empire or classical style on request

An ideal work for enthusiasts of royal history, political art, and 18th-century family portraiture

This portrait will find its rightful place in a royal gallery, a historic library, an 18th-century inspired salon, or a collection dedicated to the Bourbon dynasty. It will captivate enthusiasts of Marie-Antoinette, Vigée Le Brun, and female representations in the history of France.

Order today your reproduction of Marie-Antoinette with her children (1787) – Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

With this hand-painted reproduction, you welcome into your home one of the most important works of the late Ancien Régime, where art becomes a political voice and family memory.
At Alpha Reproduction, we recreate each masterpiece with rigor, passion, and artisanal excellence.

🎨 Oil on canvas – 🖌️ Hand-painted – 📦 International shipping guaranteed

Order now a royal portrait of emotion, history, and legitimacy.