Vigée Le Brun, Self-Portrait

What is meant by "natural"

"natural" is not a real style, but rather a way of thinking about a trend of portraiture - Casual elegance - Precise nonchalance - These should seem like oxymorons; how can one be precise and nonchalant - In fact, these images were designed to look as relaxed, natural and effortless as possible; this was becoming enormously popular as artists and patrons disliked the pomp, circumstance, and opulence of the Baroque era

Function

- Created after she had fled France following the French revolution where she was in danger as a well-known royalist - Painted for the Uffizi gallery in Florence as an addition to their collection of well-known artists' self-portrait - This wasn't beloved by critics who called her vain and self-important

Form

- Idealized (she was much older here than she appears - Self-portrait - Well lit, up front towards the picture plane, attention to fabrics is great - Grand Manner Portraiture - Aggrandizes the sitter - Makes them large, in the forefront - Appear gently idealized - Casual yet composed ("studied nonchalance"

Propaganda

- Puts her in league with male painters - Occupy in a non-threatening manner in both worlds: the world of artists (dominated by men) and the world of femininity - Shows she can paint just as well as men, and is even friendly with royalty - But is not a threat because of her great femininity; she is pretty, demure, soft, gentle, and sophisticated - Female artists had to traverse a very fine line of showing their talent to be equal to a man, but consoling men and calming them by reminded them that their gender were quite different - Shows she can be WOMAN and an ARTIST

Context

- Vigee Lebrun was admitted to the French Royal Academy (1st female member) - She specialized in portraiture - Her entrance however was orchestrated by her most important patron Marie Antoinette - Now, she certainly deserved to be there, but to many men, it looked like one corrupt woman pulling strings for another woman - Marie Antoinette was deeply disliked at this point in France - Many artists and writers argued that it was Rococo, and by extension women in general, who were leading France down the road to decay - Marie Antoinette, the Rococo excesses, indeed femininity in general, was criticized for having made France and men effeminate; this was blamed for all of France's problems (debt, corruption, a weak Louis XVI and a deeply disliked Marie Antoinette) - Many believed the only way to end this was revolution - When the French Revolution occurred, Vigee LeBrun who had been friends with Marie Antoinette had to flee and escape - This was created soon after her departure from France - She ended up traveling to Italy and Russia to paint nobility and royalty - She was enormously famous in her life and ended up writing a book about her life

Content

- Was 35 when this happened - Artist - Looks at the viewer as she paints a portrait of Marie Antoinette - She was Queen Marie Antoinette's official court painter and personal friend - Shows herself at work, which many male painters did - Sits in a relaxed pose at her east - Brushes (in her arm) are ready along with a palette - Woman - Looks very pretty; soft skin, rosy cheeks, gentle curls, piercing eyes - Wears a white turban and dark dress with a soft white ruffled collar; in the free-flowing Greecian inspired style that Marie Antoinette had made popular at the French court - Certainly not an outfit a painter would paint in

Many artists emphasized their...

...connection to their royal patrons

The artist was, just like her royal patron...

...extremely conservative in her politics

Date

1790; 18th Century (natural)

Grand Manner Portraiture

A type of 18th century portraiture designed to communicate a person's grace and class through certain standardized conventions such as: - The large scale of the figure - A low horizon line - The controlled yet casual pose These image are referred to as a sub-style called "natural"

Artist

Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun

Location

Florence, Italy

Period/Style

French

What is her portrait an example of

It is a late example of the Rococo style

Medium

Oil on Canvas

What did Rococo empitomize?

Rococo epitomized a fashionable ideal, wherein perpetual youth was libertine and pleasure-loving, its sexual gratification taken without guilt or consequence

How did LeBrun combat her critics?

She often painted herself as a devoted mother and properly feminine

What does the portrait express

The painting expresses an alert intelligence, vibrancy, and freedom from care

Grand Manner Portraiture and the taste for the "natural"

The popularity for casual elegance and studied nonchalance increased in portraits of the late 18th century

What were female painters, and women in general, blamed for?

They were blamed for the Rococo style's frivolity, femininity, and ornamentation. A quick look at Rococo paintings seemed to indicate women's sexual (and general) power

Where did Marie Antoinette and LeBrun first meet

Vigée-LeBrun first met Queen Marie-Antoinette at the royal palace at Versailles in 1778. The Queen had heard of the young painter's successes and had her own likeness painted en robe a paniers

As LeBrun was painting this portrait...

her Queen was being driven from power by revolutionaries who hated the profligate lifestyle of the nobility and would later execute both Marie-Antoinette and her husband, King Louis XVI

What career did LeBrun's father work in

her father, a minor portraitist