The painting is about Marie-Gabrielle de Gramont, Comtesse de Caderousse. It is painted on an oak panel, using oil paints as the medium, in the Neoclassic style which Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun was noted to have contributed heavily to.
In Le Brun’s memoirs, she notes that she persuaded the Duchess to not wear powder, which was a popular beauty standard of the time, so that Le Brun could showcase the beauty of her black hair. The painting, which showcases the Duchess as a peasant girl carrying a basket of fruit, was inspired by a fashion of rustic simplicity which was introduced by Marie Antionette herself.
The painting was done in 1784, the same year that Elisabeth lost her second child, which is mostly the reasoning as to which I chose this particular painting to involve in my story. It also linked well, purely on accident, because this painting also evoke fertility, the spring, and the renewal of things. The red flowers on the Duchess’ shoulder reflect a various set of meanings, but typically red flowers are used to symbolize love and romance, which is the source of all grief in many ways. The veil which extends from her hat also is capturing a tone which I set my first sentence of my story too.