THE REAL MARIE ANTOINETTE—at 14 yrs old, by Jean-Etienne Liotard c. 1770
This portrait is now titled "Portrait of a young woman"
It was painted by Jean Etienne Liotard in 1770...
In 1770, Jean Etienne Liotard was commissioned by Maria Theresa of Austria to paint this portrait of her daughter Marie Antoinette...
In May 1770, Marie Antoinette became Dauphine of France at age 14 upon her marriage to Louis-Auguste, (Louis XVI) heir apparent to the French throne...
She was the last Queen of France before the French Revolution...
Both of these portraits are said to have been painted by Liotard in 1770…
However, only one of these portraits was actually painted by Liotard in 1770…
The one with virtually invisible brushstrokes, beautifully smooth color transitions, incredible realism, and intricate detail…
In regard to the other portrait, clearly, there is no attempt to accurately depict Marie, caricature is used…
Marie was 14 years old in 1770, yet she’s depicted with grayish white hair (not a wig) with a neck and shoulders that are completely out of proportion, flat and anatomically incorrect…
“Marie was not considered beautiful by the standards of the day, which required a pale complexion, blond hair and blue eyes, Marie was blessed with an abundance of dark curls, a swarthy complexion, and brown eyes”
SOURCE;
(Josephine Wilkinson, “Louis XIV: The Power and the Glory”)
The word Swarthy or Swart derives from ‘Schwarz’ or ‘Schwartz’ which means “to be black; black man, and negro
SOURCE;
(Flügel-Schmidt-Tanger, a Dictionary of the English and German Languages for Home and School; 1905)
Definition of SWARTHY:
Black, Dark Brown, Tawny [tan colored]
SOURCE;
(Samuel Johnson, “A Dictionary of the English Language; in which the Words are Deduced from Their Originals; and Illustrated in Their Different Significations ... Together with a History of the Language, and an English Grammar.”; Vol 4; 1818)
Marie Antoinette was the great granddaughter of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor:—
“The man [Leopold I] who bore this heavy weight of genealogical responsibility was swarthy, of middling height, with the projecting lower jaw and protruding lower lip which traditionally marked (if not disfigured) the Hapsburgs”
SOURCE;
(Robert K. Massie, “Peter the Great: His Life and World”)
Here are a couple descriptions of his son Emperor Charles VI:
“The emperor Charles VI is of a middling stature and a good plight of body. He is of a swarthy complexion”
SOURCE;
(Thomas Salmon, "Modern History Or the Present State of All Nations - Volume 2"; 1745)
“The Emperor Charles VI is of middle stature, moderately fat, of a swarthy complexion”
SOURCE;
(Karl Ludwig Freiherr von Pöllnitz, "The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz"; 1737)
Leopold I, was the cousin of Louis XIV:—
“Louis XIV [had] arched eyebrows, aquiline nose, and [a] BROWN complexion”
SOURCE;
(James Peller Malcom, "Londinium Redivivum Or an Ancient History and Modern Description of London, Compiled from Parochial Records, Archives of Various Foundations, the Harleian Mss. and Other Authentic Sources"; 1802)
We are also told that the skin on his WELL PRESERVED corpse was as black as ink...
“Louis XIV was also in good preservation, but his skin was as BLACK as ink”
SOURCE;
(Sir Richard Phillips, "The Monthly Magazine" Vol.13; 1802)
To be clear, there is no question that Mummified skin can darken after being exposed to air....
But at the same time, as relates to the level of darkness: where you end up, is dependent on where you began....
“Louis XIV's swarthy complexion and prominent nose were typically Bourbon"
SOURCE;
(Richard Wilkinson, "Louis XIV")
MARIE ANTOINETTE— “Swarthy complexion”
LEOPOLD I—“Swarthy complexion”
LOUIS XIV—“Brown complexion”; “Swarthy complexion”
Marie Antoinette was guillotined at 12:15 p.m. on October 16, 1793…
Her last words are recorded as, "Pardonnez-moi, monsieur. Je ne l’ai pas fait exprès" or "Pardon me, sir, I did not do it on purpose", after accidentally stepping on her executioner's shoe