Portrait of a Young Woman as a Vestal Virgin

François-Hubert Drouais, the leading French portrait painter of the generation after Nattier, depicted many aristocratic women in the guise of classical figures, and this Portrait of a Young Woman as a Vestal Virgin of 1767 is a characteristic example. The vestal virgins — the sacred priestesses who tended the eternal flame of Rome — carried connotations of chastity, dedication, and noble service, making them an appealing guise for unmarried aristocratic women. Drouais painted numerous members of the royal family and high nobility in allegorical dress, continuing the tradition of the portrait historié that Nattier had popularized at Versailles.

The subject is depicted in the white robes and simple headband of the vestal order, holding or gesturing toward a flame. Drouais's smooth, refined modeling and cool, silvery tonality give the figure a sculptural purity appropriate to the Antique subject.