Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun "may be one of the most successful women artists of all time." She "excelled in a genre that was both exceedingly popular and competitive. Her portraits of women and children were of particular merit. Her fame, which was almost unrivaled in her own time, survived well into this century.
History's judgment of Vigee Le Brun has been, on the whole, less than favorable. The fame she enjoys derives largely from the fact that she was the artist most consistently patronized by Queen Marie Antoinette of France.
Le Brun was born in Paris during the reign of Louis XV. She was the daughter of a minor portriat painter, Louis Vigee, and a hairdresser of peasant origin, Jeanne Maissin. Her father died when she was only 12, but he can be credited with instilling in her a love of painting.
At the age of 19, she was licensed as a master painter by the Academie de Saint Luc. In 1778, the young Mme Le Brun was called to Versailles to paint her first portrait from life of Marie Antoinette.
Over a period of 12 years, she worked in Italy, Austria, Germany, and Russia. When she returned to Paris permanently she had earned and invested a tremendous fortune. This allowed her to live in comfort for the rest of her life.
The Marquise de Pezay and the Marquise de Rouge with Her Sons Alexis and Adrien, 1787
National Gallery of Art
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there are two women and two kids.
- The woman on the outside in a blue shiny dress. It looks like satin and when light hits it, it changes color. Her hair is darker than the woman in the middle, but her face makes her look older.
- The woman in the middle is probably wearing a silk dress too, and it is striped. It is the same style as the previous one.
- The older child has her arms wrapped around the waist of the woman in the middle. Her hair is more lighter and looks gray, but her face makes her look more youthful.
- The youngest girl is kind of half on the lap of the woman. She is wearing a white dress with what looks like a purple sash around her waist.
- The background - it looks like they are on a balcony, and the balcony has roses. It looks like the country is Greece. It looks like it is Greece, except the people aren't dressed in traditional Greek dresses.
- The sky is quite dark and it gives it a very gloomy look.
- The bonnets that the women are wearing are strange. They are wrapped around their heads and there are long ribbons down their back. They are just weird.
- There looks like there is part of a mountain in the background.
- All their cheeks are very rosy.
- The woman in blue's hand is reaching out towards the younger child.
Julie Le Brun, 1787
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there is a girl wearing a green dress. She has a handkerchief over the top of her head. It looks like it is big enough to go around her whole head and be tied into a little bow.
- She is holding a mirror that has a wooden frame and has details painted on.
- Her face in the mirror and the way she is holding it do not match.
- In the mirror, she is looking head on - like she is holding it right in front of her face, rather than how it should be with showing the side of her face.
- The hair that is peeking out of the cap is soft - like baby hair. It is really fine. Her hair is brown. The back of her head looks like there is curly hair.
- On the dress on the arms, there is lace.
- She has another handkerchief across the front of her dress in a criss-cross style.
- The whole picture seems to be kind of white or greenish.
- The cheeks are very rosy.
- In the mirror, I don't think she was smiling very big. The same with the other one. You can't really tell though because her head is tilted.
- The background is a greenish-brown. Really unattractive.
Countess Bucquoi, 1793
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there is a woman dressed in red. She has a red skirt with a red vest-top, that is possibly long-sleeved that is over a white long-sleeved shirt.
- Again, she has a turban - but not a turban - on her head. You can still see her hair.
- She has a shawl that is from the silk fabric. It's a lighter, orange-ish red. It's an odd red.
- There looks like there would be some gold detailing on the edge - like a pattern. It's not real gold...more like gold string.
- The way her hand is held up - it isn't under her chin, it's to the side.
- I don't know what she would be reaching for because there's nothing in that direction except plants.
- It looks like she is next to a water source.
- A waterfall is in the background.
- The white shirt has a ruffled collar.
- She looks like she is on some sort of couch or chaise. There are some leaves that are hanging over the side of it.
- She looks like she is somewhere tropical.
- The back of the dress is like - you know the stepsisters in the original Cinderella where you have that flat part where you can rest something on it - it's poofed out like that. It looks like there is a bow on it too.
- You don't see much of the sky. It is like a grayish-blue. It looks like it rained and that a rainbow should be coming out, but there isn't.
- There is a tree in the left-hand corner.
- There looks like there are mountains in the background. It almost looks like it should be Hawaii for some reason.
- The cheeks are very rosy.
- Her hair is brown and gray. It's curly. Almost all the hair in the paintings has been curly.
The Children of the Baronne D'Esthal, 1772
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there are two kids. One looks like she is between the ages of 8-10 and the other looks like she is 6-7.
-The older one is wearing a red dress with white lace and trim and she has a sash. It's a lace trim.
- She is wearing a black hat with two black feathers and a white feather. It is a very poofy hat.
- She looks like she is helping the younger one.
- The younger one is wearing a green dress that is made from satin or silk. She, too, has the white lace trim on it.
- The older one's dress looks like it could be velvet because it doesn't have the shine to it. I don't think it is cotton, though.
- The younger one has a white bonnet with pink flowers along the edge of it.
- They look like they are playing with cards and some paper.
- There also is a box that they are making or looks like it had the cards in them.
- Both of their expressions look very serious.
- Again, the cheeks are very rosy.
- The necklines seem oddly low. There's also nothing there.
- It's a plain tan/brown background. It's a boring color.
- The lace around the older one's neckline also looks like it has flowers on it.
- One of the cards looks like it could be a 6 or 8 of diamonds or hearts because it's red. There also looks like there could be a Jack, Queen, or King.
- You can't see their hair really. You couldn't see what color hair they had. It looks like they would have light-colored hair, though.
Marie Antoinette, 1778
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there is a woman and she is wearing this really floofy dress that has a lot of bows on it and it looks like it is made out of silk. There are at least four layers that are on top of it. It looks like they are tied up with tassels that below on drapes...those really big tassels.
- The tassels and detailing are gold or have gold detailing.
- She is standing next to a table that is covered in a red velvet tablecloth with gold detailing at the bottom. On the table, there looks like there is a blue and gold cushion.
- On the cushion is a carousel or some sort of decorative little thing. Next to it, is a vase with flowers that are pink and white.
- In the background, you can see a bit of the sky and also what looks like a big, green curtain. So, I think she is standing on a balcony or near a balcony.
- To the left of her, there is what looks like part of the chair that is covered in the same fabric as the cushion. And, for some reason, the carpet is some being color that is covered with flowers. The flowers are very dull in color.
- Her hair - it looks like it could be a wig or not. I think it is a wig because it is a gray...a dark gray. On her head is a hat and it looks like it is kind of like a turban. There are blue-gray and white flowers. In the middle, there looks like there is a white one.
- She is holding a rose or flower in her right hand. On the dress, there is a big white bow in the front of her dress and on each of her sleeves.
- The dress looks like it is an off-shoulder one.
Julie Le Brun as Flora, 1799
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there is a young lady wearing a white dress. It has a red scarf that is draped over her left shoulder and is under her arm, and is blowing in the wind.
- On top of her head is a wicker basket full of flowers. Also on her head and in her hair are three red handbands that match the color of her scarf.
- She appears to be standing on some sort of cliff, as the ocean in the distance seems a little bit down.
- You can also see some mountains in the background.
- The sky is blue, but there are a lot of clouds.
- To the right of her on the ground is a little shrub. Sadly, there are no animals in the shrub.
- She has a gold armband around her upper right arm and another one on her lower left forearm.
- There is gold detailing around the top part of her dress.
- One hand is balancing the basket on top of her head. The other one is hanging down.
- Her cheeks were the rosy red. She's also quite pale.
- Did I say her hair is dark brown? (No.) Well, it is. And curly.
- The wreath looks like it is made from olive branches.
- It looks a Greek setting because of the background, her dress, and her armbands.
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