A CONTINENTAL PORCELAIN RECTANGULAR PLAQUE

This plaque is after a portrait of Marie Antoinette by Alexandre Roslin (1718-1793), which was subsequently engraved by Barthélemy Roger. It appears that Roslin was directly inspired by Elisabeth Louise Vigée-Le Brun (1755-1842) who painted Marie Antoinette around thirty times during her time at the French court (1778-1788). Le Brun achieved membership of the French Academy in 1783 in part due to the influence of her royal patron. This plaque is based on Le Brun's portrait of the queen carried out in 1778. The portrait was a present from the queen to her brother Joseph II of Austria (now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) and two further copies were made, one for Catherine II of Russia and the other for her apartment at Versailles.