Portrait of Louise Henriette of Bourbon Conti, Duchess of Orleans, as Hebe

Portrait of Louise Henriette of Bourbon Conti, Duchess of Orleans, as Hebe

• Localisation : The Minerva Rotunda
• Année de création :1732
• Artiste :Jean-Marc Nattier

Description

Goddess of eternal youth in the Greco-Roman pantheon, Hebe was in charge of serving the ambrosia of eternal life to the Gods. It was very fashionable in the 18th century to have one’s portrait painted after a Goddess, as is the case here with the Duchess of Orleans. Sitting on a cloud evoking Olympus, wearing an antique-style dress, radiantly beautiful, she is serving Zeus, symbolised by the eagle. The Condé Museum also holds a portrait of the Dauphine Marie-Antoinette, also depicted as Hebe.