"Tu sera peintre, mon enfant, ou jamais il n'en sera."

April 22, 2017 4:00 PM

Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun: "A Delayed Tribute to a French Trailblazer" [NYT]; exhibition trailer; 8 minutes at the exhibition; web gallery of exhibition objects; audio tour / slideshow; and the Memoirs of Madame Vigée Lebrun.

• Kelly Hall, "Impropriety, Informality and Intimacy in Vigée Le Brun’s Marie Antoinette en Chemise" [PDF]:

  The portrait Marie Antoinette en Chemise by Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun was viewed as scandalously improper in its reception at the Salon of 1783 ... This debut for Vigée Le Brun as a member of the Academy was noteworthy not only in that she was a woman receiving this honor but also for the response her submissions elicited. The negative reaction to the portrait prompted its removal soon after the Salon opened.

• What is a chemise à la reine, anyway? What do you wear under a chemise à la reine?
• Lindsay Meehan Dunn, "Conditional Acceptance: Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun and the Académie Royale" [PDF]:

  Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842) was not admitted to the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture without incident. Her initial attempt to become a member of the Académie was unsuccessful ... Vigée-Lebrun was eventually admitted on 31 May 1783, by order of the king, presumably at the insistence of her close friend and benefactor, Queen Marie-Antoinette.

• Eighteenth-Century Women Painters in France: "The simultaneous admission of Labille-Guiard and Vigée Le Brun caused a stir in the art world and beyond, and the press immediately cast them as rivals."
• Excerpts from the memoirs: "Madame Vigée Le Brun Meets Empress Catherine II" and "Madame Vigée Le Brun On Catherine The Great."
• Erin E. Wilson, "An Alternative Ancien Régime? Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun in Russia" [PDF]:

  Vigée-Lebrun certainly had reason to look back fondly on these years in Russia, where she lived from 1795 to 1801. Despite her émigré status, she enjoyed numerous professional accomplishments while there. It is estimated that during this period Vigée-Lebrun produced close to seventy portraits, developing a professional practice similar to the one she had established in Paris. As in Paris, she catered to a clientele that included members of both the nobility and the royal family. Vigée-Lebrun was supremely prosperous during a period when many émigrés throughout Europe were struggling with their status as political exiles.

• More extensive Vigée Le Brun web gallery with some commentary.
• Chronology of the life of Vigée Le Brun.
• La tombe de Madame Vigée-Lebrun à Louveciennes and Find A Grave: Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun.

posted by Wobbuffet (4 comments total)

Great post! I've been a fan of hers since my teen years.
posted by JanetLand at 5:45 PM on April 22, 2017 [1 favorite]

This is all fascinating stuff, Wobbuffet, many thanks for the post. I’ve particularly enjoyed dipping into her Memoirs - her characterisation of Lady Hamilton as ‘a Frivolous Flirt Fond of Beer’ for example; and her meeting with Catherine the Great, etc., etc.
posted by misteraitch at 7:37 AM on April 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

This is a really interesting and well-put-together post. Thanks!
posted by Azara at 9:32 AM on April 23, 2017 [1 favorite]

I've been meaning to find out more about Vigée-Lebrun for ages, only knew her Marie Antoinette portraits, had no idea what she did after leaving France or that she wrote a memoir - which is all to say thank you very much for this post Wobbuffet. Loved the slideshow and audio tour, looking forward to reading more of her memoir and exploring your other links.
posted by valetta at 12:31 AM on April 24, 2017 [1 favorite]