In 1778 Vigée-LeBrun painted the first of her many portraits of Marie Antoinette, a royal commission which acknowledged her position as the artist most favored at court. Indeed, she enjoyed a degree of professional recognition, social status and financial success that was exceptional among women artists of her time. 

Vigée-LeBrun's portrait of the Prince of Nassau was one of her earliest successes. In it she includes the attributes of an adventurer. The globe and map refer to the Prince's voyage around the world with the explorer Bougainville in 1766-69.  The map is inscribed "Otaiti" in reference to his famed encounter with the Queen of Tahiti, who reportedly offered him her crown.

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