Portrait de Marie-Anne de Châteauneuf, dite Mlle Duclos, dans le rôle d'Ariane

Painted in 1712 and now at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, this portrait depicts Marie-Anne de Châteauneuf—known as Mlle Duclos—in the role of Ariane (Ariadne), confirming the theatrical masquerade portrait tradition at the heart of Largillière's practice. Duclos was one of the most celebrated French tragic actresses of the early eighteenth century, a star of the Comédie-Française renowned for playing classical heroines. Depicting her as Ariadne—the Cretan princess abandoned by Theseus—was an appropriate doubling: the actress associated with classical tragedy shown in the identity of one of antiquity's most famous tragic heroines. The Speed Art Museum's holding places this theatrically significant work in an American institutional context, where it can be compared with the other Largillière at the Norton Simon also identified with Duclos.

The theatrical portrait required Largillière to navigate between the conventions of portrait likeness and theatrical costume. Ariadne's classical attributes—flowing drapery, possibly a crown of Dionysus or a ship in the background—needed to be introduced without overwhelming the central task of portraiture. His handling of flowing Greco-Roman drapery draws on academic figure-painting conventions.