Portrait of Mademoiselle de Charolais

An 18th-century portrait of Mademoiselle de Charolais, similar to the portrait painted by Nattier, is Mademoiselle de Charolais, Marie-Anne de Bourbon-Condé (1697–1741). She was the daughter of Louis III de Bourbon-Condé, Prince of Condé, and Louise Françoise de Bourbon, the legitimated daughter of King Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. A free and independent woman who never married, she had numerous lovers and a sulphurous reputation. It is said that she wore a monk's habit so that she could remove it more quickly by pulling the rope during romantic visits. Oil on canvas, antique relining, magnificent 18th-century frame, gilded with gold leaf, in carved wood with interlacing, scallop shells, and flowered spandrels. (Some minor wear to the gilding).