ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Queen Marie Leszczinska’s historical reputation for self-effacing modesty was largely constructed via engagement with her portrait, painted by Jean-Marc Nattier in 1748, through its adaptation in different media and by later sitters in processes of transmediation and transformation. While the portrait was commissioned by the queen and intended to be seen in the public Salon exhibition and through the dissemination of copies, its transformation into miniatures and engravings, as well as its adaptation by other sitters, enlarged the interpretations available to later spectators and ultimately shaped subsequent perceptions of the queen’s identity.
