After her patrons King Louis XIV (1638–1715) and Queen Marie Antoinette (1755–1793) of France were executed in 1793, Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun embarked on a 12-year exile circuit of European courts. She supported herself and her daughter, Julie, through portrait commissions. She often created chalk sketches, like the one on display here, during an initial sitting that she later worked up intoa finished painting. This painting follows on the artist’s years spent at the court of Catherine the Great (1729–1796) in Russia. Vigée-LeBrun complemented the sitter’s idealized appearance—youthful with flushed cheeks, a narrow nose, and delicate lips—with a gown meant for home wear and an elaborate headdress that refers to the sitter’s native country, Georgia. From wispy feathers to heavy silks and shining jewels, Vigée-LeBrun created the spectacular combination of glamorous yet casual female beauty and luxury that made her portraits popular among elites in France, Russia, and Austria.