Thursday, January 16, 2014

Elisabeth Vigée Lebrun on Madame Elisabeth


 credit: (C) RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot

Elisabeth Vigée Lebrun on Elisabeth Philippine Marie Hélène de France, the youngest sister of Louis XVI, known as 'Madame Elisabeth':
'The features of [this Princess] were not regular, but her face expressed gentle affability, and the freshness of her complexion was remarkable; altogether, she had the charm of a pretty shepherdess. She was an angel of goodness. Many a time have I been a witness to her deeds of charity on behalf of the poor. All the virtues were in her heart: she was indulgent, modest, compassionate, devoted. In the Revolution she displayed heroic courage; she was seen going forward to meet the cannibals who had come to murder the Queen, saying, "They will mistake me for her!"'

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