![]() ![]() This is how she, the artist's consensual subject, chose to be remembered: corpulent, spirited, and sure of herself. Well pleased with herself in her generously upholstered frame, she sits squarely, a person of large presence, double chin proudly high, forehead unfurrowed, decked in secular, feminine garb, velvet band about her neck, bow and flowers along her plunging neckline, fur ruff draped over her shoulder. From this first encounter, as she appraises me with amused interest, she seems to know I am spellbound. I am dealing here with a singular phenomenon, the royally commissioned expert deliverer you do not ignore such a person once you meet her. ![]() Louis XV might have designated a whole corps of women to undertake this task of nationwide birthing instruction, but it was given only to her. She alone, as the extraordinary note beneath her portrait explains, is "pensioned and sent by the King to teach the practice of midwifery throughout the Realm" (fig. ![]() It is not just her gaze that captivates, half here, half elsewhere. Angélique Marguerite Le Boursier du Coudray fixes me with one eye, a direct stare. ![]()
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