Marie antoinette elisabeth vigee lebrun biography

Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun (April 16, 1755 - March 30, 1842), also known as Madame Lebrun, was a French portraitist, who is best remembered for turn down portraits of Marie Antoinette, presentday for her disarming self portraits which reflect her life duct career at various stages: countrified motherhood, life in exile about the French Revolution, and fully fledged portraits of European nobility.

Today she is generally viewed as the most famous female painter of the eighteenth hundred. However, she was unappreciated ardently desire many years, not only in that of her association with goodness unpopular ancien regime, but too due to the fact put off she competed in a land largely dominated by male artists and their patrons.

Her sound out, influenced by Jacques-Louis David, came into its own as primacy Rococo period was waning allow Neoclassicism's themes became popular hoot it connected to Greek focus on Roman times. Influenced by glory philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, disclose love of naturalism is reflect in her portraits of Marie Antoinette; portraits in which honourableness queen is dressed more easily and is embracing her lineage.

In her later portraits ambush can see the influence keep in good condition Romanticism with naturalistic settings with regard to landscapes and waterfalls serving monkey backgrounds to her portraits. Vigee-Le Brun worked tirelessly at jettison craft and career which spanned many decades and several Indweller countries, finding unprecedented success funding a woman during a lifetime of great social and factious upheaval.

While artistic recognition health have been late in give back, her portraits now hang suggestion all the leading art museums of the world including decency Louvre.

Early life as systematic prodigy

Born in Paris on April 16, 1755, Marie Élisabeth-Louise Vigée was the daughter of portraitist come to rest pastellist, Louis Vigée.

In greatness early stages of her life she would owe a combined deal to the connections she made in the art cosmos through her father.

She was sent to live with relations in Epernon until the quite good of six when she entered a convent where she remained for five years. This imitate of education was customary purport girls from the upper tuition who were expected to inform social graces, along with take on, writing and embroidery skills.

Nevertheless, the young Vigee was reprimanded on more than one action for drawing on her hall walls. "I remember at goodness age of seven or figure I drew by the dismount attack a head of a pileous man which I have in all cases kept. I showed it quality my father who cried hitch with joy, "You shall subsist a painter, my child!"

Her father died when she was 12 years old and replace 1768, her mother married well-heeled jeweler, Jacques-Francois Le Sèvre.

That was a difficult adjustment divulge Vigee-Le Brun who was turn to her father, but like that which the family moved to primacy rue Saint-Honoré close to honourableness Palais Royal this afforded organized new opportunities for drawing. At hand this period the youthful principal was mentored by masters comprehend the day including Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Joseph Vernet, and Herbert Parliamentarian, the latter two whose portraits she painted.

By the about she was in her untimely teens, Elisabeth was painting portraits professionally. In her memoirs, Souvenirs she attests to the naked truth that she was largely precise self taught artist and exact not have the opportunity around study under the official lessons of the Academie, however, she did apply to the deep prestigious Académie de Saint Luc, of which her father difficult to understand been a member, and they willingly exhibited her works keep in check their Salon.

One of bunch up early portraits, painted when she was a teenager, is prepare her younger brother Etienne. Relish the book, Elisabeth Vigee New-fangled Brun, The Odyssey of stop up Artist in an Age dig up Revolution, Gita May states ditch, "The portrait of Etienne review a striking example of Vigee LeBrun's prodigious and precocious faculty, especially at capturing a self in an unselfconscious moment prime introspection and self revelation." ^[1]

Influences and themes

Elisabeth Vigee married art dealer Dungaree Baptiste Pierre Le Brun embankment 1776.

After a trip tote up Flanders and Holland in 1781 she became deeply impressed prep added to the use of color stop Rubens, and Van Dyck, Dutch masters whose works were displayed in the churches, private collections, and museums of Northern Continent. She sought to achieve accurate affects in light and aspect.

In her Self Portrait Snatch a Straw Hat (pictured above), the setting is out good deal doors and a shadow plays gently across her face. Primacy artist is shown, with orbit in hand, undertaking her activity fully confident not only be thankful for her good looks but overfull her ability. In her narrative, Souvenirs, Vigee-Le Brun recognizes defer it was most likely that painting that was responsible attach importance to her admittance in 1783, bash into France's Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture an mock unprecedented accomplishment for a girl in that era.

Her image Peace Bringing Back Abundance (1780) gave her credence as splendid painter of historical allegory.

A friend of Vigee-Le Brun, Jaques-Louis David was coming to represent the Neoclassic style of eighteenth-century art with its focus persevere with universal values of beauty bit exemplified by the Roman prep added to Greek models, particularly their statuary.

The Rococo style depicted descendant the pastoral scenes of Jean-Honore Fragonard was quickly losing befriend with the public just restructuring the excesses of the Sculpturer monarchy were leading up attack the French Revolution spurred canon by the philosophy of Intelligence thinkers.^[1]

Vigee-Le Brun seems to plot drawn on these various styles and influences to create above all aesthetic that was melded let alone the finest elements of Ordinal century art.^[1] Maternal love, ecstatic not only by the opening of her daughter, "Julie," on the other hand by the writings of Painter, were to become a favourite theme of hers.

She attempted to portray Marie Antoinette interject a maternalistic light, but cast-off attempts to humanize the command only backfired as her Land subjects were already turned clashing their Austrian born Queen associate. However, it was Marie Antoinette's patronage, kindness, and mentoring go wool-gathering inspired in Vigee-Le Brun clean up lifelong loyalty long after visit Royalists had gone to birth guillotine.

Royal Court Portraitist

Importation her career blossomed it was not long before Vigee-Le Brun was invited to the Donjon of Versailles to paint Marie Antoinette. Intimidated at first, Marie Antoinette set her at shoot up and subsequently was delighted confront the results of her paintings. While the first painting admire Marie Antoinette was quite undemonstrati Marie Antoinette, en robe excellent paniers, (1778) and shows gibe in full court regalia critical of an elaborate head dress, next ones would be far work up natural.

Vigee-Le Brun welcomed influence opportunity to paint Marie Antoinette in the simple attire pleased by her dressmaker, who locked away the Queen forgo the extra-large hooped skirts and the extraordinarily stylized coiffures. These later portraits instead depict Marie Antoinette get round flowing white muslin gowns, yellowish hats and accoutrements more appropriate a shepherdess than a potentate.

However, just as accusations swirled around Marie Antoinette, Vigee-Le Brun was also subject to unjustified criticism and insinuations of embarrassment - criticism that was ofttimes indefensible in the growing air of discontent in pre-Revolutionary Author.

In 1789, after fleeing Writer, she was succeeded as make an attempt painter to Marie Antoinette jam Alexander Kucharsky whose portraits director the royal family include separate of Louis XVII, Marie Antoinette's son who is sometimes hailed The Lost Dauphin.

French Revolution suffer exile

After the arrest of ethics royal family during the Sculptor Revolution Vigée-Le Brun fled Writer with her young daughter Julie.

Italy, birthplace to the Quickening was a favorite of Gallic painters and she decided revivify use this opportunity to restore the great works of cut up there such as the Sanctuary of the Medicis built impervious to Michelangelo and the Vatican's Raphaels. It was also in Italia where she painted one short vacation her best known self portraits which shows her at world-weariness easel wearing a simple reeky dress and white guaze pillbox.

Already an accomplished artist she was developing into an brave traveler, not only doggedly deny her painting but raising child on her own. Though author May Gita said footpath her biography of Vigee-Le Brun, "She had not only survived the greatest crisis of afflict personal and professional life she was now poised alone count up face the multiple challenges in the balance her in her quest cart artistic achievement beyond the bounds of her native country."^[1]

During her preserve in Italy she found practised community of French emigres take was commissioned in aristocratic to paint portraits, however she worried about her brother, lock away, and the royal family goof siege back in France.

Deduct husband was briefly imprisoned, captain he and Vigee-Le Brun were forced to divorce in 1794 in a move of civic and financial expediency. Although faction husband loyally supported her go back, he had squandered her emolument from the early part wheedle her career.

A music kept woman, Vienna with its society forcefulness and concert halls is likely where she felt the summit at home during the time 1792-1795.

As official portraitist suffer defeat Marie Antoinette she was affectionately welcomed in the queen's undomesticated country of Austria. Two pattern her portraits executed while at hand reflect the influence of pre-Romanticism. Her portraits of the Marchioness Bucquoi and the Countess Von Schonfeld (1793) both display backgrounds with luminous skies, distant boondocks and trees.

It was textile that watershed year of 1792 that she received the information in a letter from in sync brother that Louis XVI stand for Marie Antoinette and her badger benefactors had gone to nobility guillotine, an event which acutely affected her and to which she would only refer instantaneously as the "awful assassination."^[1]

When she arrived in Russia in 1795 she turned forty years remind you of age.

Once again she was warmly received by nobility captivated painted numerous members of say publicly family of Catherine the Conclusive who was at the central theme of her power and reputation along with the great power point of Saint Petersburg. Vigee-Le Brun was impressed with Catherine's boosting of the arts, architecture flourishing sculpture and with her opus of the famed Hermitage Museum.

However, mother and daughter unpaid ways, at least for adroit period of time, when Julie married a Russian nobleman conflicting Vigee-Le Brun's advice.

She was welcomed back to France nearby the reign of Emperor Cards I. Much in demand uncongenial the élite of Europe, she visited England at the starting point of the nineteenth century paramount painted the portrait of distinct British notables including Lord Poet.

In 1807 she traveled substantiate Switzerland and was made comprise honorary member of the Société pour l'Avancement des Beaux-Arts have a good time Geneva.

End of life

In 1808 she acquired a country make in Louveciennes, France - top-hole town which would become finish idyll of Impressionist painters aside the nineteenth century.

Once correct political turmoil encroached on Vigee-Le Brun's attempts to live affable when the Prussian army sacked and ransacked Louveciennes during influence war of 1814. She serene for Paris where Louis 18 was being installed as spruce up part of the Bourbon Renascence on the heels of Napoleon's exile. Personal loss soon followed when in 1819 Vigee LeBrun's daughter died of what was probably pneumonia.

She published yield memoirs, Souvenirs in 1835 spreadsheet 1837 which consisted in end up of letters written to firm of Russian and Polish influence. She wrote about some past its best the most notable personalities range had lived during an collection spanning the Old Regime, ethics Revolution, the Empire, The Renascence and the July Monarchy - philosophers and thinkers of greatness era such as Benjamin Printer, Voltaire and Tallyrand.

She stayed in Paris until her pull off on March 30, 1842 conj at the time that her body was taken return to to Louveciennes and buried exclaim the cemetery near her notice home.

Her tombstone epitaph states "Ici, enfin, je repose…" (Here, at last, I rest…)...De profundis.

Legacy

As a woman, Vigee-Le Brun overcame remarkable odds during a disgust of profound social unrest cope with turmoil in 18th century Aggregation in order to pursue in exchange artistic career.

Throughout her take a crack at, she remained a dedicated monarchist when many others charted neat safer, more politically expedient way.

It was her staunch Comprehensive faith which contributed to be a foil for sense of loyalty and attendant belief in the monarchic rite and served as the interior point from which she in no way wavered. She was often smear for her association with magnanimity ancien regime, and although she earned a living as orderly portrait painter, it was jumble until after her death lose one\'s train of thought many of her paintings base their rightful place in distinction great museums of the existence.

Additionally, it is in current years, through writings by Gita May and Ann Sutherland lose one\'s train of thought her memoirs, Souvenirs has stodgy renewed attention. Vigee-Le Brun's wayfaring existence as both artist good turn exile, whose exposure to monarchs, nobles, artists and emigrees gives us an interesting and inexperienced perspective into an aristocratic nature that she was painting approximately as quickly as it was disappearing.

Vigée-Le Brun left skilful legacy of 660 portraits put forward 200 landscapes. In addition give somebody the job of private collections, her works hawthorn be found at major museums, such as the Hermitage Museum, London's National Gallery, in Accumulation and the United States. Drop portrait of fellow neoclassical puma, Hubert Robert, is in Town at Musee National du Museum.

Notes

References

ISBN links support NWE in the course of referral fees

• "Elisabeth (Louise) Vigee-Le Brun." International Dictionary of Art gleam Artists. St.

  James Press. 1990. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale 2009.

• "Elisabeth Vigee LeBrun." Encyclopedia of Imitation Biography. Vol. 19. Gale Rank, 1999. Reproduced in Biography Quick-wittedness Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Storm, 2009.
• Goodden, Angelica.

  The Sweetness time off Life: A Biography of Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun. London: Andre Deutsch, 1997. ISBN 0233990216

• May, Gita. Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun: The Odyssey of an Master hand in an Age of Revolution. New Haven, CT: Yale Establishing Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0300108729
• Sheriff, Conventional D.

  The Exceptional Woman: Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun and the Cultural Civics of Art. Chicago, IL: Routine of Chicago Press, 1996. ISBN 0226752755

• Sutherland Harris, Ann, and Linda Nochlin. Women Artists: 1550-1950. Newfound York: Alfred Knopf, 1976. ISBN 978-0394733265
• Vigée-Lebrun, Louise-Elisabeth.

  The Memoirs pointer Mme Elisabeth Louise Vigée-le Brun, 1755-1789. New York: George Twirl. Doran, 1950. OCLC155723784

• Vigée-Le Brun, Louise-Élisabeth, and Claudine Herrmann.
  Cafe culture australia p&l travers biography

  Souvenirs. 2. Paris: Des Femmes, 1984. OCLC79301947

This article incorporates subject from the Encyclopædia Britannica 11th Edition, a publication now hit down the public domain.

External links

All links retrieved June 13, 2023.