As a society portraitist, Ingres pictured the most emblematic figures of his time. Fascinated by luxury and the world of aristocracy, by feminine beauty and by fashion, Ingres quenched his fantasy of living the voluptuous life of high society in a small series of portraits painted in his old age.

The Vicomtesse d'Haussonville and the Princesse de Broglie are depicted in the intimacy of their homes, posing in conventional attitudes. Ingres indulges again one last time in his taste for accessories, jewelry and ornamental objects, painting them with photographic realism. He concentrates on the sensual rendition of clothes and skin. To delight while delighting himself, to create elegantly simplified shapes in pure and stringent colors, such was Ingres's true intention in painting these portraits.