Why Is Labille-Guiard So Important In Madame Adélaïde?

During a visit to the Phoenix Art Museum, I was exposed to hundreds of different types of art. Having only been there once in May for prom, I never had a chance to see all of the art that was on display. I was amazed at the different styles and mediums used for the work. One work in particular, Madame Adélaïde by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard caught my attention with it’s large size and bright colors. It was made with oil on canvas in 1787 and is approximately 84 x 60 inches and looked in even more massive in comparison to the much smaller works placed next to it. Labille-Guiard was well known for her skill with textures, and this paintings shows them off well. The viewer can almost feel the fabric of Madame Adélaïde’s dress just by looking at it and the brilliant red of her velvet cloak
She remained unmarried her entire life after refusing to marry anyone who wasn’t a monarch or heir to a throne and two of her younger sisters did the same. Adélaïde was described as intelligent, artistic, and politically ambitious (though unsuccessful). She made multiple attempts to gain political influence through her father, brother, and nephew but they were all fruitless, causing her to become bitter. She did, however, receive custody of the late dauphin’s papers which included instructions should his son become king and had a heavy influence on him in the early years of his reign. She held a terrible grudge against her nephew’s wife, Marie-Antoinette, because their marriage removed Adélaïde from power. This hostility caused her to coin the famous phrase “The Austrian Woman” that stuck with the queen for the rest of her life. Later in her life, Adélaïde was described as an old hag who gossiped and knit with her sisters. During the Revolution, the elderly princess and her one remaining sister left France and fled to Italy, where she spent the remainder of her life and passed away in