Madame Sophie de France (1734–1782)

In the pictureA woman with gray-powdered hair topped by a small floral ornament sits in a gilded armchair and looks straight out. Her sky-blue silk gown with white stripes is covered with white, orange and purple flowers, and the neckline and bodice front are thickly trimmed with garlands woven of small blue flowers. Layers of white lace hang from the ends of the sleeves, and a brown fur muff crosses the bottom of the picture. The signature "Drouais le fils 1762" appears in the background at right. Both cheeks are flushed as if rouged, and a faint smile shows at her lips.

BackgroundSophie de France (1734–1782) was one of the eight daughters of Louis XV; she never married and spent her whole life at court. François Hubert Drouais (1727–1775) was a court portraitist who was born and died in Paris, and the "le fils" (the son) in the signature was added to distinguish him from his father, Hubert Drouais, also a portrait painter. The fur muff is a prop signaling dress for the cold season. It measures 65.1 × 53 cm and was given by Barbara Lowe Fallass in 1964. The king's daughters were addressed by the title "Madame," and the "Madame Sophie" of the title is that form of address.

Puzzle tipThe floral decoration covers half the picture and looks daunting, but the striped sleeves, the blue garland at the neckline and the large flowers on the bodice differ from piece to piece, so checking against the preview puts them in place. Assemble the face, the gray hair, the white lace and the brown fur first, then fill the corner with the gilded chair pieces at lower left. The greenish-brown background comes last. The fur of the muff runs diagonally, so join it following the direction of the fur. Hard (about 100 pieces) is a good fit.