Mademoiselle Chanel

The name sounds familiar, doesn't it? Yes — this is indeed the Chanel we all know, the legendary luxury house.

The woman depicted in this painting is Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, the founder of Chanel.

This portrait was painted when Chanel was forty years old. By that point, she had already amassed extraordinary wealth and renown. The painter Marie Laurencin was herself well known at the time, yet her career as a portraitist was only just beginning — meaning Chanel, in a sense, entrusted her likeness to someone who was still finding her footing in the genre.

So, when Chanel saw the finished work, was she pleased — or displeased?

The answer is: displeased.

She is said to have refused to purchase the painting. Exactly why she disliked it has never been definitively established, and so various theories have circulated over the years.

For one thing, the expression is unmistakably melancholy. Far from projecting success, the face suggests someone who can barely afford tomorrow's meal. Laurencin may have intended to convey that even a triumphant entrepreneur harbors fragility and vulnerability within — but Chanel, it seems, had little desire to expose that inner world to the public.

Another theory holds that the likeness simply fell short of the real thing. That, however, is harder to judge. A photograph of the actual Chanel has been included here, so take a look for yourself.

She was undeniably beautiful in person — though the painting, for its part, hardly strikes one as a poor rendering.

We'd be curious to know what you think.