Marie Leczinska, Queen of France

portrait

Marie Leczinska (1703-1768) was born at Breslau on the 23rd of June 1703, being the daughter of Stanislas Leszczynski (who in 1704 became king of Poland) and of Catherine Opalinska. She was betrothed to Louis XV, a step which was the outcome of the jealousies of the houses of Conde and Orleans, and was everywhere regarded as a mesalliance for the French king. The marriage took place at Fontainebleau on the 5th of September 1725.

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About the Artist

Louis Tocqué

1696 – 1772

French portrait painter who was the pupil and son-in-law of Nattier (who was good at painting pretty women, while Tocqué was happier with plain ones). He admired Rigaud and Largillierre and adapted their styles, and Nattier's, to the requirements of his own time. He worked in Paris except for a trip to St Petersburg and Copenhagen (1756-59) and a second trip to Copenhagen in 1769.

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