Comtesse de Provence (1753-1810) holding a pink rose in her left hand, in cream-coloured chemise à la Reine with ruffled collar, cream-coloured scarf in her upswept and powdered curling hair; tree and foliate background

Marie Louisa Josephine, daughter of King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia (see lots 224), was married to Louis Stanislas Xavier of Bourbon, Comte de Provence, future King Louis XVIII (see lot 259), at Versailles on 14 May 1771. With over 5,000 guests in attendance the union between this daughter of the house of Savoy and the second grandson of the aged Louis XV of France was celebrated with one of the most luxurious weddings of the Ancien Régime. The remaining thirty years of Madame's life were not happy. Her husband being more interested in male friendships, she turned increasingly to drink and became, in her turn, a lesbian: her passionate attachment until her death with her Lectrice de la Chambre, Madame de Gourbillon, was known by their intimate correspondence. Even from her deathbed, she continued to send daily love letters to Gourbillon. After Marie Josephine's death Madame de Gourbillon sold the implicating letters to the widower, by then King, in exchange for a substantial annual pension.