Queens of France in the Grand Couvert

A row of full-length portraits of French queens (18th–19th cc.) hangs against deep red wall coverings, each framed in heavy gilded wood. One canvas centers Marie Antoinette in formal court dress, flanked by other royal consorts in similarly staged poses. Displayed in the Antechamber of the Grand Couvert at the Grand Trianon, they trace shifting ideals of royal femininity from Rococo grace to Empire restraint.