TRUE STORIES BEHIND FAMOUS PORTRAITS
By C.B. Brown

--------------------------------------------------------------------

(PG. 43) CHAPTER 5: Marie Antoinette

MARIE ANTOINETTE

Of the many great portraits painted by Marcel Bonet during his career, none has fueled more controversy and gossip than his portrait of Marie Antoinette, which was completed only months before the Revolution broke out.

It all began when King Louis XVI, Marie's husband, commissioned an opulent, jeweled tiara for her birthday. Set in the tiara were a ruby, an emerald, a sapphire, and a 52-carat diamond, bigger than any diamond ever before worn by French royalty. Marie was horrified by the tiara's extravagance and

--------------------------------------------------------------------

(PG. 44)

An printed copy of the portrait of Marie Antoinette posing with a purple rose in one hand.

refused to wear it. It is even rumored that she referred to it as "my crown of

--------------------------------------------------------------------

(PG. 45)

ruination," though no one knew what she meant by this.

When it came time to have her portrait painted by the master, Bonet, Marie insisted on posing away from the Palace at Versailles, in the tower room of the Chateâu Rochemont, where she often visited to escape the growing turmoil in Paris. Further, the queen refused to be painted wearing the tiara.

King Louis was furious, but Marie would not budge. She chose to ornament herself with a purple rose instead, not just a flower, but a symbol of her willful defiance of her husband's wishes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

(PG. 46)

When the portrait was finished, she gave it to the Rochemonts, in appreciation of their loyal friendship. Shortly thereafter, the Revolution erupted in full. When Marie Antoinette and her husband were arrested, the queen refused to reveal the whereabouts of the tiara.

Even after her execution, neither the tiara, nor the magnificent jewels it contained, were ever found. To this day, speculation and heated debate continues about what became of the "crown of ruination." The painting is now in the hands of a private American collector.