Madame Duvaucey was the baron Alquier's mistress, who was the Ambassador of France to the Holy See; Ingres completed her portrait during his stay at the French Academy in Rome. Left penniless towards the end of her life, she restituted the portrait to Ingres who bought it back. This is the first and one of the most beautiful female portraits of Ingres, who yearned to be a great history painter, but whose success came most notably for his talents as a portraitist.
