What Did Marie Antoinette Look Like?

When we want to know what a historical figure looked like, the first logical place we look are at portraits painted from life. Of course, when it comes to artwork, we must allow for a certain amount of artistic license. One of Marie Antoinette’s portraits that we know has a fairly reliable likeness, is of a young Antoinette in a red riding costume by Joseph Kreutzinger in 1771. Her mother thought that it captured such a good likeness of her daughter that she kept it and another copy, exclaiming “Thus, I have you always with me, under my eyes.”

By Joseph Kreutzinger in 1771

The Queen of France had Habsburg blood and inherited the famous jutting lower jaw/lip. (Although not as prominent as some others in the Habsburg family!) It is thought that she also had a fairly prominent nose. As a child, she had crooked teeth, which were straightened with wires. Another aspect of her appearance that (at the time) was seen as ‘less flattering’ was written about in Antonia Fraser’s book Marie Antoinette: The Journey, she writes of Marie ‘One shoulder was higher than the other but that could be corrected by the proper use of corsetry or concealed by padding.’ presumably this was not severe and likely undetectable once she was dressed.

As a girl, she had thick fair hair with a high forehead and an uneven hairline, which was rectified by a hairdresser. Antoinette’s hair suffered in later life, we can only speculate as to why, it could possibly have been due to stress and hormones, as she seemed to suffer from thinning hair after her pregnancies and it would be cut short by her hairdresser Leonard. During her mid-thirties, her hair began to turn white.

Her complexion was thought to be one of her best features. Her beautiful white skin was described by artist Madame Vigée Le Brun as being ‘so transparent that it allowed no shadow.’ The wearing of rouge was hugely popular, and Antoinette wore copious amounts in large circles on her cheeks. The contrast of her big blue eyes and the scarlet rouge undoubtedly only highlighted her paleness. She later abandoned this heavy makeup in favour of a simpler look, during this time she wore her classic white muslin gowns, shown below in this portrait by Madame Vigée Le Brun, 1783.

  By Madame Vigée Le Brun, 1783.

The 1784 bust of Marie Antoinette by Félix Lecomte gives us a 3D likeness, showing us her Habsburg jaw/lip, large nose, and wide-set determined eyes, all of which are more visible when sculpted. I love this bust, it is very strong and regal. We know after Antoinette’s execution, Madame Tussaud sculpted a likeness from Marie’s lifeless head before it was unceremoniously buried. Unfortunately, I cannot find any reliable information or images of the wax head; therefore, I haven’t included it in this post. No matter what Marie Antoinette looked like when she was alive, she continues to inspire fashion and creativity to this day with her iconic look!

Bust by Félix Lecomte 1784.

References:

·       I found a lot of the above information from the book: Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser.

·       A Stitch in Time: Marie Antoinette, Season 1, Episode 6.

Make-up: A Glamourous History, Series 1, Episode 1.