Marie Rinteau, called Mademoiselle de Verrières

Marie Rinteau, called Mademoiselle de Verrieres, appears in this 1761 portrait at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Verrieres was the daughter of Genevieve Rinteau de Verrieres and Maurice de Saxe, making her the illegitimate granddaughter of Augustus the Strong of Saxony—a lineage that placed her in the complex social world of Ancien Regime France where birth, beauty, and connections determined status. Drouais was among the most successful portraitists of pre-Revolutionary France, working in the tradition of his father Hubert Drouais and studying under Carle van Loo, Natoire, and Boucher before establishing himself at court.

The young woman"s portrait shows Drouais presenting a sitter whose social position was ambiguous with the same elegant technique he brought to legitimate aristocracy. The features are rendered with careful attention to beauty and character, the warm flesh tones and bright eyes creating an engaging likeness. The costume indicates fashionable taste without the formal rigidity of court dress. The palette is warm and flattering, emphasizing the sitter"s youth and beauty.