Portret van Antoinette des Houlières 1695 - 1697

Pieter van Schuppen made this engraving, “Portret van Antoinette des Houlières,” in Paris in 1675. Antoinette de la Garde Deshoulières, or Madame Deshoulières as she was known, occupied an unusual position as a woman of letters in the court of Louis XIV. Here, she’s framed by an ornate border containing the symbols of her noble heritage. Note the text which suggests her beauty is celebrated by the verses written about her. Yet, Deshoulières's literary success complicated the traditional roles assigned to women of her time. Deshoulières engaged with philosophical and moral questions in her writing, and she critiqued social norms, thereby carving out an intellectual space for herself in a male-dominated society. Her work provides insight into the negotiation of identity and the expression of female intellect within the confines of 17th-century French aristocratic culture. She was celebrated, but her position remained precarious. The portrait then is a carefully constructed image, one that mediates her position as both a woman and intellectual.