Madame du Châtelet, based on a work by Marianne Loir

This is the best-known work by Marianne Loir, a celebrated portrait painter who built her career by painting the provincial nobility whilst leading a nomadic life. A number of portraits of well-known Parisian figures, such as those of Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin and Émilie du Châtelet – the original of which is held at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux – have ensured her place in art history.

This portrait of Émilie du Châtelet is characteristic of the developments in the genre during^{the 18th} century, particularly with regard to women. Far from flattering portraits depicting them as goddesses or allegories, many of them wished to be portrayed amidst symbols associated with their passions.  Émilie du Châtelet’s passion for science is embodied in an armillary sphere and a compass, held in the model’s right hand. This image of a woman is, however, an exception; many were more frequently depicted holding sheet music, drawing papers or books.

Whilst Marianne Loir highlights her subject’s scientific ambitions, her femininity is by no means neglected. In her left hand, the Marquise holds a carnation, a symbol of love, suggesting a passionate personality. This carnation sits opposite the somewhat aggressive-looking compass, which sits alongside a fur trim running along her dress. This portrait makes her appear far more alluring than in the one kept at the Château de Breteuil, painted by Maurice Quentin de la Tour, where the Marquise is depicted at work, her dreamy gaze fixed on the viewer’s eyes.

A woman of taste and fashion, Émilie du Châtelet was a devoted fan of the ‘palatine’ – a fur choker, usually made of mink – which she embellished with diamonds and rhinestones. This fashion was launched by the Palatine Princess, Elisabeth Charlotte of Bavaria, the second wife of the Duke of Orléans, brother of Louis XIV, who expressed considerable pride in it in her memoirs: ‘Given the prevailing cold, I had the idea of reviving an old fur collar to keep my neck warmer; now everyone is ordering them in the same style – it’s the biggest fashion trend of the moment!’