Credit: The Royal Society
    Image number: RS.22044

    Portrait of Émilie du Châtelet

    Date
    1862
    Sitter
    Émilie du Châtelet (1706 - 1749, French) , Mathematician
    Creator
    Charles Geoffroy (1819 - 1882, French) , Engraver
    After
    Maurice-Quentin de La Tour (1704 - 1788, French) , Painter
    Object type
    Image reference
    Material
    Technique
    Dimensions
    height (print): 165mm
    width (print): 120mm
    Subject
    Description
    Half-length portrait of Émilie du Châtelet in her study, she is seen holding a quill pen in her right hand, with a globe, a pair of dividers and a collection of books and papers visible on her desk behind her. Du Châtelet is shown wearing a frilled dress and collar, with a bow around her neck and a floral brooch in her hair. She is seen turned slightly towards her right and is looking out towards the viewer. The portrait is presented within an oval frame with a decorative border.

    Inscribed below: ‘LA TOUR PINX.’ ‘Imp, Drouart à Paris.’ ‘GEOFFROY SC.’ ‘MME DU CHATELET.’

    Gabrielle Émilie, Marquise du Châtelet (1706-1749), French mathematician and physicist, wrote an extensive commentary on Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica, as well as translating the text into French. She was not elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
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