Figure.

A) Digitally colored scanning electron microscopic image of a flea. Puce is a particularly difficult color to describe. Numerous shades of puce exist, some of which are associated with different anatomic areas of the flea. Image no. 11436: Janice Haney Carr/CDC. B) Portrait of Marie Antoinette painted in 1785 for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. Private collection, Public domain. She seemed to have “preferred a shade leaning more toward ash-gray,” but is seen here modeling a more standard hue of puce.