2 February-31 March 2026
Free Trail
The Study

Fashion. Extravagance. Tragedy.

Few figures fired the imagination quite like Marie-Antoinette (1755–1793). Born an archduchess at the glittering Austrian court, her destiny was decided by her marriage to the future Louis XVI of France. She soon attuned herself to the French vogue and the glamour of life at Versailles, while also cultivating a discerning eye for the beautiful. Once crowned queen, she used her almost limitless wealth and influence to commission interiors and artworks of unparalleled refinement, right up until the dawn of revolution.

The Wallace Collection cared for some of the world's greatest works of art associated with the ill-fated queen. Visitors discovered a selection of these during a special two-month trail, which offered a tantalising glimpse into her sumptuous, lost world.