C. Hourdain, French, active 18th century - Marie Therese Charlotte de France - n.d. - T-Shirt

This is an 18th-century copperplate portrait of Marie Thérèse Charlotte de France, the eldest daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, rendered in warm sepia tones on a cream field.

Visual Elements & Composition

The composition is built around an oval bust portrait of the princess in a white empire-waist gown with puff sleeves. Sepia dominates the image, with cream forming the paper-toned ground and dark brown reserved for the sharpest lines. Above the portrait sits a coat of arms topped with a crown and fleur-de-lis, set against a sunburst. The engraved lettering runs through the plate, including "MARIE THERESE," "Charlotte de France," "Son Altesse Royale," "MADAME," and "Duchesse d'Angoulême," with the credit line "Kraltreron Pinx. Vindeb. 1797" and "C. Howard Sculpt." beneath.

Meaning & Symbolism

The coat of arms, crown, and fleur-de-lis mark the portrait as royal imagery, tying the young princess to the continuity of the French line. The title "Son Altesse Royale" and the Latin inscription "ET QUORUM PARS MAGNA FUI" reinforce that dynastic identity. Marie Thérèse Charlotte was the only member of her immediate family to survive the French Revolution, so a portrait of her from the late eighteenth century carries the weight of a childhood captured just before the monarchy's fall. C. Hourdain, the French artist behind the original, is known mainly through surviving printed works, and this piece reflects the portrait conventions of its period.

Made for the Wearer

A portrait engraving like this one is a detailed image meant to be read up close, and a tee puts it at chest height where the oval medallion and its lettering can be seen clearly as you move. The design's formal, symmetrical layout suits a garment that is worn face-on, so the coat of arms sits above the portrait just as it does on the original plate. Wearing it means carrying a piece of 1790s printmaking into everyday life.