Louise Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun
French Neoclassical Painter and Portraitist of Marie-Antoinette
Jan 18, 2009
Louise was born into an artistic family. Her father, Louis Vigée (1715-1767) was an Assistant Professor at the Académie Saint Luc in Paris and appointed First Painter to Madame de Pompadour, while her mother Jeanne (née Maissin) was a hairdresser.
Youth, Beauty, Art
At the age of twelve, her well-connected father realized that Louise was talented and she was allowed to attend the drawing lessons at his studio where she was introduced to the artists who would instruct her.
Louise’s mother accompanied her during regular viewings of art collections open to public where Louise studied by copying paintings by established masters.
In 1776, Louise married a distinguished connoisseur and art dealer Jean Baptiste Pierre LeBrun. She studied LeBrun’s collections of Old Masters as she was building up her clientele and establishing a reputation for herself.
Marie – Antoinette’s Favourite
Treatment of her paintings was considerably influenced by Flemish masters, in particular Rubens, Van Dyck and Rembrandt. Louise aimed to emulate the effect of light on surfaces and textures as well as the richness of colours. She gained popularity as a portraitist capable of capturing the likeness of her sitter but more importantly as one who is able to improve the features with very flattering results. Her understanding of how women wished to be seen made her a well sought-after portraitist. Rococo ‘air-brushing’ was particularly desired by high society ladies but inspired some criticism by art commentators who observe that Louise’s female likenesses often lacked characterization.
Commissions from the nobility eventually led to royal patronage. In 1779 she acquired a prestigious commission for a portrait of the Queen of France, Marie – Antoinette, a professional engagement which developed into a friendship and Louise became the Queen’s official portraitist. This full-length portrayal of the Queen in her elaborate robe was a great success. While continuing to portray the Queen, she kept receiving commissions to paint many other ladies of the court.
Although Louise was now well-renowned and successful artist, her ambition was to gain a membership of the prestigious Académie Royale de Peinture et Sculpture which imposed severe restrictions in terms of admission of female artists. Through intervention of the Queen and by direct order of the King she was finally accepted in 1783, aged 28.
Queen’s Portraitist
In the same year she painted another portrait of Marie – Antoinette, this time in a simple dress with the Queen holding a rose in her hand. During this period of growing aversion towards the royal court and its opulent life - style, Louise aimed to depict the monarch as leading a simple life. A similar message was to be conveyed in the 1787 representation of the by now hated Marie – Antoinette with her children which was to convince the public of the Queen’s feminine propriety and regal dignity.
Exile
When the Revolution broke out in 1789, Louise fled France due to her associations with the royalty.
In exile, Louise travelled across Europe and Russia and became a member of many prestigious academies (Parma, Rome, Saint Petersburg).
In 1800 Louise’s name was removed from the list of emigrants due to the petition signed by Parisian artists and intellectuals. After her return to France she re-established her contacts and continued painting well into her old age.
Sources:
- Angelica Gooden: The Sweetnes of Life
- Gita May: Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun - The Odyssey of an Artist in an Age of Revolution
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