A female artist in the French Revolution...
8:24 p.m.
04/04/16 - Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (France, 1755-1842) was one of the most renown European portrait-artist of the 18th Century. Self-taught and ambicious, it was thanks to her natural abilities that she became part of the French court to depict Marie Antoinette. At 28 she was admitted into the prestigious Académie Royal de Peinture et de Sculpture, supported by her Majesty. In 1789, year of the Revolution, she was forced to leave France because of her connection with the Queen, but was admitted into other courts, such as those in Florence, Vienna, Saint Petersburg and Berlin. Vigée Le Brun was not only admired because of her abilities, but because of her respect and understanding of those who posed for her.
Self-portrait, by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1790)
Technique: oil on canvas / Measures: 100 x 81 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of New York is presenting a retrospective with 80 of her works, from those done in Marie Antoinette's court to some 19th Century portraits.
Portrait of Marie Antoinette,
Archduchess Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1778)
Technique: oil on canvas / Measures: 273 x 193.5 cm
As Marie Antoinette had a very thin face and her lower lip was broad, the artist always made her pose in a way that would bring forward her best features. Plus, she would enhance her skin color, a pale and luminous tone that, according to Vigée Le Brun, was unique.
Portrait of Marie Antoinette and her children, by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1787)
In 1785, Luis XVI commissioned her to portrait the Queen and her children. The work, on display at the Palais de Versailles, turned out to be an iconic one in her career, in spite of its profound drama: an empty cradle was included as a reminder of the recent death of one of the Queen's sons. Le Brun was the first female artist to obtain the title of royal artist.
The Marquise de Pesay and the Marquise de Rougé with Her two Sons, by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1787)
Countess Varvara Nikolayevna Golovina, by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (ca. 1797-1800)
During her life she made more than 600 portraits. Most of the works in the exhibition belong to private collections in Europe and America. The works, presented in chronological order, help us appreciate her skills. Maybe because of the richness in the detailing of the dresses or the luxury surrounding Marie Antoinette, the most exquisite portraits are those she did in the French court.
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