Jean-Marc Nattier was a sought-after portrait painter; he immortalised numerous society ladies, not least of all King Louis XV’s daughters, in allegorical, mythological pictures. Angélique-Louise-Sophie, the marquise de Baglion, seems transformed into a supernatural being. Nattier lends her idealised, harmonious facial features and clothes her in a delicate robe that accentuate her generous figure. The various flowers identify her as Flora, the goddess of flowers and of spring.