Portrait of Adrienne-Sophie Marquise de *** 1779

Editor: This is a piece titled "Portrait of Adrienne-Sophie Marquise de ***", created in 1779 by Augustin de Saint-Aubin. It’s an engraving, so a type of print. It really captures the elegance of the era, but there’s also something quite formal and constructed about it. How would you interpret its historical significance? Curator: Well, first, notice that the title only gives us part of the sitter's name, signaling that the subject’s identity mattered, but perhaps not as much as her social standing. As a print, this image also had a life beyond the elite circles in which the Marquise moved. Do you see how the symbols below—the musical instruments, for instance—act almost as a performance of her cultural capital? It emphasizes her education, accomplishments, and access to refined society, making visible certain ideals of femininity circulating at that time. Editor: That’s interesting. So it's not just a portrait, but a carefully constructed representation of social status made for a wider audience. Does that mean that prints like these had a political role? Curator: Precisely! While seemingly innocuous, such imagery served to reinforce hierarchical social structures and certain modes of conduct. Images of the aristocracy circulated widely, normalising their position within society, and, in a way, justifying it through the display of elegance and grace that other classes presumably could not attain. Do you think that accessibility changes how the elite want to be seen? Editor: Definitely. Seeing it this way makes me rethink what portraits were actually for back then. I had focused on what was shown, now I'm curious who it was being shown *to*. Thanks, that gives me so much more to think about. Curator: Indeed! Examining art through a historical lens transforms our perception entirely; this one engraving unveils how power operated, and the print participates in that political theater.