Louise-Marie de France

Louise-Marie de France, daughter of Louis XV who entered the Carmelite convent at Saint-Denis, appears in this 1763 portrait at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. Louise-Marie"s decision to take the veil was controversial at court, and her portrait by Drouais records the princess before her religious vocation removed her from secular life. The Melbourne gallery"s European paintings were largely acquired through the cultural ambitions of colonial-era Australia.

The royal princess is shown in the formal court dress she would soon exchange for a nun"s habit, with Drouais rendering the rich fabrics and decorations with his customary precision. The face shows a serious, contemplative expression appropriate to a woman preparing for religious life. The palette features the full richness of court costume—silks, lace, jewels—rendered in Drouais"s characteristically smooth technique.