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The pair soon became friends. During a conversation, Vigée Le Brun complemented the Queen on her bracelets with an antique design, which the Queen then took off and put around Vigée Le Brun's arms. Vigée Le Brun considered this gift one of her most valued possessions for the rest of her life, and wore it almost everywhere. At the Queen's urging, Vigée Le Brun visited the Queen's Peacock Island, where the artist enjoyed the countryside. |
Aside from two pastel portraits commissioned by the Queen, Vigée Le Brun also painted other pastel portraits of Prince Ferdinand's family. |
During her stay in Berlin, she met with the General Plenipotentiary Bournonville, hoping to procure a passport to return to France. The general encouraged Vigée Le Brun to return and assured her that order and safety had been restored. Her brother and husband had already struck her name from the list of émigrés with ease, and had her French status restored. Shortly before her departure from Berlin, the General Director of the Academy of Painting visited her, bringing her the diploma for her admission to that academy. After her departure from Berlin, she visited Dresden and painted several copies of Emperor Alexander, which she had promised earlier, and also visited Brunswick where she resided for six days with the Rivière family, and was sought out by the Duke of Brunswick who wished to make her acquaintance. She also passed through Weimar and Frankfurt on her way. |
Return to France and stay at Paris |
After a sustained campaign by her ex-husband and other family members to have her name removed from the list of counter-revolutionary émigrés, Vigée Le Brun was finally able to return to France in January 1802. The artist received a rapturous welcome in her home at Rue de-Gros-Chenet and was greatly hailed by the press. Three days after her arrival, a letter arrived for her from the Comédie-Française, containing a decree reinstating her as a member of the theater. The leading members of the theater also wished to enact a comedy at her house to celebrate her return, which she politely refused. Soon afterwards, the artist was taken to witness the first consul's routine military ceremony at the Tuileries where she saw Napoleon Bonaparte for the first time, from a window inside the Louvre. The artist found it difficult to recognize the short figure as the man she had heard so much about; as with Catherine the Great, she had imagined a tall figure. A few days later, Bonaparte's brothers visited her gallery to view her works, with Lucien Bonaparte greatly complimenting her famous Sibyl. During her stay, Vigée Le Brun was surprised and dismayed by the greatly changed social customs of Parisian society upon her return there. She soon visited the famous painter M. Vien, who was the former Premier peintre du Roi; then 82 years old and a senator, he gave Vigée Le Brun an enthusiastic welcome and showed her some of his newest sketches. She met her friend from Saint Petersburg, Princess Dolgorouky, and saw her almost daily. In 1802, she demanded the refund of her dowry from her husband, whose gambling habits had dissipated a significant portion of the wealth she had accumulated in her early career as a portraitist. The artist soon felt mentally tormented in Paris, mainly due to memories of the early days of the revolution, and decided to move to a secluded house in Meudon forest. She was visited there by her neighbors, the famous dissident pair and Directory period Merveilleuses the Duchesse de Fleury, whom she met there for the first time since their friendship in Rome, and Adèle de Bellegarde; time spent with the pair restored her spirits. Shortly thereafter, Vigée Le Brun decided to travel to England, and departed from Paris on 15 April 1802. |
England |
Vigée Le Brun arrived at Dover, where she took the stagecoach to London, accompanied by the woman who would become her lifetime friend and chambermaid, Mme. Adélaïde, who later married M. Contat, Vigée Le Brun's accountant. Vigée Le Brun was confused by the large crowd at the quays, but was reassured that it was common for crowds of curious people to observe disembarking travelers in England. She had been told that highwaymen were common in England, and so hid her diamonds in her stocking. During her ride to London she was greatly frightened by two riders who approached the stagecoach whom she thought were bandits, but nothing came of it. |
Upon her arrival at London she lodged at the Brunet hotel in Leicester Square. She could not sleep during her first night due to noise from her upstairs neighbor, who she found next morning was none other than the poet M. François-Auguste Parseval-Grandmaison, whom she had known from Paris. He always paced while reading or reciting his poetry. He promised her to take care not to interrupt her sleep, and she was able to rest well for the next night. |
Wishing to find a more permanent lodging, a compatriot named Charmilly directed her to a house in Beck street, which overlooked the Royal Guards barracks. Vigée Le Brun terminated her residence there because of the noise from the barracks; in her words, "...every morning between three and four o'clock there was a trumpet blast so loud that it could have served for the day of judgement. The noise of the trumpet, together with that of the horses whose stables lay directly beneath my window, prevented me from catching any sleep at all. In the daytime there was a constant din made by the neighbor's children...". Vigée Le Brun then moved to a beautiful house in Portman Square. Upon closely scrutinizing the house's surroundings for any acoustic nuisance, she took up lodging there, only to be awakened at daybreak by a great screeching from a large bird owned by her neighbor. Later on, she also discovered that the former residents had buried two of their slaves in the cellar, where their bodies remained, and once again she decided to move, this time to a very damp building in Maddox Street. Although this was far from perfect, the artist was exhausted from constant moving, and decided to remain there, though the dampness of the house, combined with London's humid weather – greatly disliked by the artist – hindered her painting process. Vigée Le Brun found London lacking in inspiration for an artist due to its lack of public galleries at that time. She visited monuments, including Westminster Abbey, where she was greatly affected by the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots, and visited the sarcophagi of the poets Shakespeare, Chatterton and Pope. She also visited St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London and the London Museum. She greatly disliked the austere social customs of the English, particularly how quiet and empty the city was on Sundays, when all shops were closed and no social gatherings took place; the only pastime was the city's long walks. The artist also did not enjoy the local soiree equivalent – known as Routs (or rout-parties), describing them as stuffy and dour. The artist sought out the tree under which the famous poet Milton was said to have composed Paradise Lost, but was surprised to find that it had been cut down. |
The artist visited the galleries of several prominent artists while in London, starting with the studio of artist Benjamin West. She also viewed some works by Joshua Reynolds. Vigée Le Brun was surprised to find that it was customary in England for visitors to the studios of artists to pay a small fee to the artist. Vigée Le Brun did not adhere to this local custom, and allowed her servant to pocket this toll. She was greatly pleased to meet one of the most famous actress and tragediennes of her era, Sarah Siddons, who visited Vigée Le Brun's studio in Maddox Street. During her stay in London, the English portraitist John Hoppner published a speech that viciously criticized her, her art and French artists in general, to which she made a scathing reply by letter which she published later in her life as part of her memoirs. |
Vigée Le Brun continued to hold soirées and receptions in her house, which although damp, was beautiful. She received many people, including the Prince of Wales, Lady Hertford and Lord Borington and the famous actress Mme. Grassini among others. Vigée Le Brun sought out other compatriots during her stay in England, and cultivated a social circle of émigrés that included the Comte d'Artois (future King Charles X) and his son the Duc de Berri, the Duc de Serant and the Duc de Rivière. |
Shortly after her arrival in London, the Treaty of Amiens was abrogated, and hostilities between France and the United Kingdom resumed. The British Government ordered all French people who had not resided more than a year in the UK to depart immediately. The Prince of Wales reassured Vigée Le Brun that this would not affect her, and she might reside in England however long she pleased. This permit from the King was difficult to procure, but the Prince of Wales personally delivered the permit to Vigée Le Brun. |
Vigée Le Brun toured the countryside during her stay in England. She started with a visit to Margaret Chinnery at Gilwell Hall, where she received a "charming welcome" and met the famous musician Viotti, who composed a song for her which was sung by Mrs. Chinnery's daughter. She painted Mrs. Chinnery and her children whilst there, departing for Windsor after staying at Gilwell for a fortnight. She also visited Windsor Park and Hampton Court on the outskirts of London before leaving to visit Bath, where she greatly enjoyed the picturesque architecture of the city, its rolling hills and the countryside; but much like London, she found its society and weather dreary. She found some of her Russian friends from Saint Petersburg there, and went to visit the astronomer siblings William Herschel and Caroline Herschel. William Herschel showed Vigée Le Brun detailed maps of the moon, among other things. |
The artist greatly enjoyed the English countryside, describing Matlock as being as picturesque as the Swiss countryside. Vigée Le Brun also visited the Duchess of Dorset at Knole House in Kent, which had once been owned by Elizabeth I. She returned to London, where she found the Comte de Vaudreuil, and then went to Twickenham where she visited Mme. la Comtesse de Vaudreuil and the Duc de Montpensier, with whom Vigée Le Brun became well acquainted; they enjoyed painting the countryside together. She was subsequently received by the Duc d'Orléans (the future King Louis Philippe). She then visited the Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach, the Baroness Craven, whom she painted and came to greatly enjoy her company, spending three weeks at her estate. Together, they visited the Isle of Wight, where Vigée Le Brun was mesmerized by the beauty of the countryside and the amiability of its inhabitants, writing later that along with the Isle of Ischia (near Naples), these were the only two places where she would happily spend her entire life. |
She visited Mary Elizabeth Grenville, Marchioness of Buckingham, at Stowe. She also went to the home of Lord Moira and his sister Charlotte Adelaide Constantia Rawdon, where Vigée Le Brun further experienced the stern social milieu of English aristocracy; she spent some of the winter there. She then departed for Warwick Castle, eager to see this after hearing it praised so much. Vigée Le Brun attempted to visit the area incognito to avoid any awkwardness with Lord Warwick, as he would receive foreigners only if he knew their name. When he became aware that Vigée Le Brun was visiting, he went to her in person and gave her a decorous reception. After introducing the artist to his wife, he took her on a tour around the castle, looking over the lavish art collection there. He presented her with two drawings which she had sketched in Sir William Hamilton's summerhouse during her stay in Italy, telling her that he had paid a high price to buy them from his nephew. Vigée Le Brun later wrote that she had never sold them to Sir William to begin with. He also presented to her the famous Warwick vase, which he had purchased from Sir William as well. Vigée Le Brun then ended her tour by visiting Blenheim Palace before returning to London, and preparing to depart for France after staying in England for nearly three years. Upon her imminent departure becoming known, many of her acquaintances attempted to extend her residence with them, but to no avail as Vigée Le Brun wanted to see her daughter, who was in Paris at the time. As she prepared to leave London, Mme. Grassini arrived and then accompanied her, staying with her until her ship departed for Rotterdam, ending a trip that was originally intended to last only five months. |
Return to France from England |
Her ship arrived in Rotterdam, where she first visited François de Beauharnais, the prefect of Rotterdam and brother in law to the Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais (brother to the late Alexandre de Beauharnais, who had been executed during The Terror). The artist was ordered to reside for eight to ten days in Rotterdam, as she has arrived from hostile soil, and was ordered to appear before General Oudinot, who was hospitable to her. After residing in Rotterdam for ten days, she received her passport and started for Paris. She visited Antwerp on her way to Paris and was received by its prefect, the Comte d'Hédouville[fr], and toured the city with him and his wife, and visited a sick young painter who wished to make her acquaintance. |
She arrived in Paris and rejoiced to find her brother and her husband there, who was charged with recruiting artists for Saint Petersburg. He departed a few months later for Saint Petersburg, but Julie remained due to their failing union, though her relationship with her daughter continued to be a torment to her. She made the acquaintance of one of the most famous singers of her time, Angelica Catalani. She painted her and kept her portrait along with that of Mme. Grassini for the rest of her life, and continued to host soirées in her home as she had always had, to which Mme. Catalani was a regular. |
Shortly after her arrival in Paris, Vigée Le Brun was commissioned by the court painter, Denon, to paint a portrait of the Emperor's sister Caroline Bonaparte, though she had heard that her journey to England had displeased Napoleon, who had allegedly said "Madame Le Brun has gone to England to see her friends." Vigée Le Brun accepted the commission despite the fact that she was paid 1800 Francs, less than half the customary asking price, and later also included Mme. Murat's daughter in the portrait without raising the fee. She later described this commission as "torture", and wrote in her memoirs:It would be impossible to describe all the vexations and torment I had to suffer while painting this portrait. First of all Mme Murat arrived with two ladies in waiting who proceeded to dress her hair as I tried to paint her. When I observed that it would be impossible to capture a likeness if I allowed them to continue, she eventually agreed to send the two women away. Added to this inconvenience, she almost always broke our appointments, which meant my staying in Paris for the whole summer waiting, usually in vain, for her to appear, for I was eager to finish the painting; I cannot tell you how this woman tried my patience. Moreover the gap between sittings was so long, that each time she did appear, her hair was dressed differently. At the beginning, for example, she had curls falling onto her cheek and I painted them accordingly; but a little later this style had gone out of fashion and she returned with a completely different one; I then had to rub out the curls as well as the pearls on her bandeau and replace them with cameos. The same thing happened with the dresses. The first dress I painted was rather open, as was the fashion then, and had a great deal of bold embroidery; when the fashion changed and the embroidery became more delicate, I had to enlarge the dress in order not to lose the detail. Eventually all these irritations reached a pitch, and I became very bad tempered as a result; one day she happened to be in my studio and I said to M. Denon, in a voice loud enough for her to overhear: 'When I painted real princesses they never gave me any trouble and never kept me waiting.' Of course Mme Murat did not know that punctuality is the politeness of kings, as Louis XIV quite rightly remarked and he, at least, was no upstart.The portrait was exhibited in the Salon of 1807, and was the only portrait the imperial government commissioned from her. |
Switzerland in 1807 |
In July 1807, the artist crossed to Switzerland, arriving first at the town of Basel, where she was received by M. Ethinger, a local banker, who threw a banquet to welcome the artist. She proceeded to Biel on the advice of Ethinger, but the roads there were so hazardous that part of the journey had to be made on foot. After recuperating in Biel for a single day, she proceeded to the tiny Île Saint-Pierre to visit the home of Rousseau, which she found, to her great surprise and dismay, had become a tavern. Vigée Le Brun praised the picturesque countryside repeatedly in her letters to Countess Vincent Potocka. After departing the island to return to Biel, she went on to Berne, where she was received by the wife of the Landamann (magistrate), Mme. de Watteville, and the General Ambassador Honoré Vial. She also met the seven-months pregnant Mme. de Brac, who accompanied her to Thun, and then to the Lauterbrunnen Valley, which she found dark and grim due to its being hidden from sunlight on both sides by steep mountains. On her descent, she and her company encountered a group of local shepherdesses; the beauty and naivete of the local people and the wilderness where the encounter took place made her liken the experience to something out of Arabian Nights. She went on to visit the Staubbach Falls in the valley. |
After traversing the rugged trails of the valley, she returned to Berne via Brientz, and then arrived at Schaffhausen where she was received by the local Burgomeister, who took her to see the Rhine Falls. After departing from Schaffhausen, she visited the city of Zürich, where she enjoyed the hospitality of General Baron de Salis. |
After taking the young daughter-in-law of de Salis with her, she departed for the small island of Ufenau in Lake Zurich, then visited Rappercheld [sic] where she continued to be mesmerized by the beauty of the countryside and the "native innocence" of the locals. After a hazardous boat ride destined for Walenstadt, the entourage turned back to Rappercheld and then visited the valley of Glarus. The artist then continued to the village of Soleure, on the Jura mountains. Seeing a solitary chalet perched atop Mount Wunchenstein [sic], her curiosity was excited by who would live so far and high, and she made a trek up the mountain after being assured that the conditions of the road would support her carriage. After slightly less than an hour, the road became very rugged and far too steep, prompting her to dismount and continue the journey on foot. The trek lasted about five and a half hours, though she wrote in a letter to Countess Potocka that the view made it completely worth it:to tell the truth, the view completely eliminated my fatigue. Five or six vast forests, piled one upon the other, fell away beneath my eyes; the canton of Soleure seemed no more than a plain, the town and the villages, tiny specks; the fine line of glaciers which fringed the horizon became redder and redder as the sun sank: the other mountains between them formed a complete color spectrum; gold rays stretched across the mountain to my left, each carrying a rainbow in its arc; the sun set behind the peak; red-violet mountains grew imperceptibly fainter and fainter in the distance, stretching away to the lake of Biel and the far edge of Lake Neuchatel., they stood so far apart that you could only distinguish them by two gold lines. heavy with translucent mist; I was still overlooking the deep ravines and mountains covered with thick foliage; at my feet lay wild valleys surrounded by black pine forests. As the sun set, I watched the shadows change; different points took on a more sinister character, partly because of their shape and partly because of that long silence which slips harmoniously into the day's demise. All I can tell you is that my soul gloried in such a solemn and melancholy vision.She returned to Soleure the next day, and then departed for Vevey, which she described as "the land of my dreams". She rented a house on the banks of Lake Geneva and toured the countryside and mountains around Vevey. She walked up Mount Blonay where the Messieurs de Blonay hosted her at Blonay castle. After descending the mountain, the artist hired the innkeeper where she was lodged to row her out on the lake at night. She was enthralled by the charming beauty and silence of the lake, and wrote of the journey later "He was not Saint Preux and I was not Julie, but I was no less happy". Vigée Le Brun then departed for Coppet, where she met the famous dissident socialite and woman of letters Madame de Staël, who was exiled by the Napoleonic regime. She stayed at Coppet with Madame de Staël, whom she painted as Corinne, a character from Mme. de Staël's most recent novel, Corinne ou l'Italie (1807). |
After returning from Coppet to Geneva, where she was made an honorary member of the Société pour l'Avancement des Beaux-Arts, she departed in a group with the de Brac family for Chamonix, intending to visit the Sallanches mountains, the Aiguille du Goûter, and Mont Blanc. The journey was perilous. The entourage visited the Bossons Glacier. On the way upwards, M. de Brac fell ill with catalepsy, and was slowly nursed back to health in a nearby inn, where Vigée Le Brun, the pregnant Mme. de Brac and her son were distraught and worried about his condition, but he recuperated slowly over the course of a week. After eleven days in Chamonix, the artist departed alone without the de Brac family, writing that nothing would bring her to visit the "melancholic"' Chamonix again. She then left Switzerland and returned to Paris. |
Switzerland in 1808 |
With her desire for travel still not sated, Vigée Le Brun re-entered Switzerland in 1808 via Neuchâtel, and then visited Lucerne, where she was enchanted by the picturesque and wild town. The artist also visited Brown [sic] and the market town of Schwyz, then Zug, where she crossed Lake Zug. She visited an inn where she wanted to visit the infamous landslide of Goldau. The artist visited the valley, once populated with several villages, now buried under rocks. Heavy with sorrow, she contemplated the remains of the villages for a long time before departing for Arth. Vigée Le Brun then climbed Kussnacht, intending to visit the spot where the legendary William Tell was said to have killed Gessler; at the time a chapel had been constructed on the location. There, the artist observed a shepherd and shepherdess singing to each other across the valley, a local courting custom, although the two stopped singing when they noticed her. The "communication of love through melody" presented her with a delightful scene, which she would describe as an eclogue in action. |
The artist then visited Untersee, where she was fortunate to arrive in time to witness the Shepherd's festival at Unspunnen castle, which took place once every century. She was hosted by M. and Mme. Konig, who hosted all notable people who came to visit the festivals. Vigée Le Brun went to the château du Bailli to witness the start of the festival, which had been postponed a few days due to incessant rain, and was captivated by the festival's solemn pastoral chants and fireworks at night. The next day, she returned to see the festival taking place at half past ten in the morning; she joined the celebrations and dancing, before sitting back and watching the contests between the shepherds and shepherdesses. Vigée Le Brun recorded that she was frequently moved to tears by the enchanting atmosphere of the festival. |
Coincidentally, she found Madame de Staël at the festival, and joined her in the procession that followed the Bailli and his magistrates, which was joined by people from the neighboring valleys, dressed in their local costume and carrying flags representing each canton or valley. |
Return to Paris and later life |
New home at Louveciennes, the abdications of Napoleon and Bourbon restorations |
After returning to Paris from her second visit to Switzerland, Vigée Le Brun purchased a house in Louveciennes, Île-de-France near the Seine, and invited her niece (daughter of her brother Etienne) Caroline Rivière and her husband to live with her. She doted on the newlywed couple and formed a close bond with them, and occasionally visited Paris. She had Mme. Pourat and the talented actress Comtesse de Hocquart as neighbors. She visited Madame du Barry's home, the Pavillon de Louveciennes, which she found had been looted and stripped clean of its furniture and contents. On 31 March 1814, her house was raided by Prussian troops who were advancing towards Paris in the final stages of the war of the Sixth Coalition. As she prepared to go to bed after eleven o'clock, with no knowledge of the proximity of the allied troops, they entered her home, while she lay in her bed. They entered her bedchamber and proceeded to loot her home. Her German-speaking Swiss servant Joseph screamed at the soldiers to spare her person until his voice was hoarse. After the looting, the soldiers left her home. She left as well, initially intending to head to St. Germain before learning that the road there was unsafe. Instead she decided to take refuge in a room above the pumping machine at Marly aqueduct, near Du Barry's pavilion, with many other people, having entrusted her house to Joseph. As fighting nearby intensified, Vigée Le Brun attempted to take refuge in cave, but gave up after injuring her leg. There, she observed how most of the merchants taking refuge were, like her, pining for the restoration of the Bourbons. |
She departed for Paris as soon as she received the news, and communicated by letter with Joseph about the condition of her Louveciennes home, which had been ransacked and its garden destroyed by the Prussian troops. Her servant wrote to her: "I beg them to be less greedy, to content themselves with whatever I give them, they reply: "The French have done far worse things in our country". Vigée Le Brun wrote in her memoirs "The Prussians are right; poor Joseph and I had to answer for that." |
Vigée Le Brun was exultant at the entry of the Comte d'Artois to Paris on 12 April, shortly after Napoleon had agreed to abdicate. She wrote to him about the King, to which he replied: "His legs are still bad, but his mind is in excellent form. We will march for him, and he will think for us". She attended the euphoric reception of the King in Paris on 3 May 1814, and the restoration of the monarchy. The King personally gave her his regards while on his way to attend the Sunday services when he spotted her in a crowd. |
Upon Napoleon's return from Elba, she noted the contrast between the rapturous reception the Bourbons had received the previous year and Napoleon's tepid welcome upon his return to France from his exile in Elba, after which he initiated the Hundred Days war. Vigée Le Brun exhibited her staunch royalist sympathies in her memoirs, writing: Without wishing to insult the memory of a great captain and many brave generals and soldiers who helped win such resounding victories, I would like nevertheless to ask where these victories led us, and whether we still own any of the land which cost us so dear? For my part, the bulletins from the Russian campaign both distressed and revolted me; one of the later ones spoke of the loss of thousands of French soldiers and added that the Emperor had never looked so well! We read this bulletin at the home of the Bellegarde ladies, and felt so angry that we threw it on to the fire. The fact that the people were tired of these interminable wars is easily attested by their lack of enthusiasm during the Hundred Days. More than once I saw Bonaparte appear at his window and then retire immediately, furious no doubt, for the acclamation of the crowd was limited to the shouts of a hundred or so boys, paid, I believe, as an act of derision to chant long live the Emperor! There is a sharp contrast between this indifference and the joyful enthusiasm which greeted the King on his entry into Paris on the 8th of July 1815; this joy was almost universal, for after the many misfortunes incurred by Bonaparte, Louis XVIII brought only peace. |
Her Louveciennes home was once again looted in the Hundred Days, this time by British troops. Among the possessions lost during this incident was a lacquer box gifted to her by the Count Stroganoff during her stay at Saint Petersburg, which she had prized immensely. |
Her estranged husband died in August 1813, in their old home built on the Rue de-Gros-Chenet. Though they had drifted apart for several years, she was nonetheless sorely affected by his death. |
In 1819 she sold her portrait of Lady Hamilton as the Comaean Sibyl to the Duc de Berri, despite it being her favorite, because she wished to satisfy the Duke. She also painted two portraits of the Duchesse de Berri, initially in the Tuileries, but then finishing their sittings in her home. In the same year, her daughter Julie died of syphilis, which devastated her. The next year, her brother Etienne died an alcoholic, leaving her niece Caroline her principal heir. Her friends advised the grief-stricken artist to travel to Bordeaux to occupy her mind with something else. She traveled first to Orléans, where she resided in the Château de Méréville, where she was mesmerized by its elegance, beauty and architecture, designed in the English Garden style; she wrote that it "surpassed anything of its kind in England". She toured the city and sampled its architecture and landmarks, including the cathedral and the ruins surrounding the city. She then traveled to Blois where she visited the Château de Chambord, which she described it as "a romantic, fairy tale place". She then visited the Château de Chanteloup, residence of the late Duc de Choiseul. Afterwards, she traveled to Tours, where the impure air forced her to quit the city after only two days. In Tours, she was received by the director of the academy, who offered to be her guide in the city. She also visited the ruins of the Marmoutier monastery. She then passed Poitiers and Angoulême on her way to Bordeaux. After arriving in Bordeaux, she stayed in the Fumel Hospice and was received there by the prefect, the Comte de Tournon-Simiane. She toured the countryside and visited the cemetery, which she praised for its sepulchral beauty and symmetrical layout. It became her second-favorite after the Père La Chaise cemetery of Paris. She also visited the synagogue of Bordeaux, styled after the temple of Solomon, the ruins of the ancient Roman Gallien Arena. After spending a week in Bordeaux, she started back for Paris, greatly satisfied with her travels. During her journey, it was common for her to be mistaken for a noble lady owing to her expensive carriage; she later lamented in her memoirs that this often meant she had to pay more in the inns where she resided. |
Her journey to Bordeaux was the last time she traveled extensively. |
Friendship with Antoine Jean-Gros |
The artist formed an intimate friendship with Antoine-Jean Gros, whom she had known since he was seven years old and had painted his portrait when he was at that age, during which she had noticed an artistic inclination in the child. Upon her return to France she was surprised to find Gros had become a successful and famous painter, head of his own school of art. Gros was socially reclusive, and often brusque to others, but he formed a close bond with Vigée Le Brun, who wrote: "Gros was always a man of natural impulses. He was prone to feel the keenest sensations and would become equally passionate over a kind action or a beautiful work of art. He was ill at ease in society, rarely breaking the silence in a crowded place, but he listened attentively and replied with his gentle smile, or by a single word, always very apt. To appreciate Gros, one had to know him intimately. Then he would open up his heart, a kind and noble one at that; some people reproached him for having a certain brusqueness of tone, but this disappeared entirely in private. His conversation was even more fascinating because he never expressed himself in the same way as other men; always finding the most unusual and powerful images to convey a thought, you might almost say he painted with words." |
She was greatly affected by his suicide in 1835; she had met him the day before and noted him brooding over criticism he had received over one of his paintings. |
Later years |
She spent most of her time in Louveciennes, typically eight months of the year. She formed new friendships with people including the writer and man of letters M. de Briffaut, the playwright M. Despré, the writer M. Louis Aimé-Martin, the composer M. Désaugiers, the painter and antiquarian Comte de Forbin, and the famous painter Antoine-Jean Gros. She hosted these people and socialized with them regularly in her countryside home or in Paris, as well as her old friend the Princess Kourakin. She painted Saint Geneviève, with the face being a posthumous portrait of 12-year old Julie. For the local chapel, the Comtesse de Genlis graced this painting with two separate poems; one for the saint, the other for the painter. She spent her time with her nieces Caroline Rivière and Eugénie Tripier-Le Franc, whom she came to regard as her own children. She had tutored the latter in painting since childhood and was greatly pleased to see her blossom into a professional artist. Eugénie and Caroline would assist her in writing her memoirs, late in her life. She died in Paris on 30 March 1842, aged 86. She was buried at the Cimetière de Louveciennes near her old home. Her tombstone epitaph says "Ici, enfin, je repose..." (Here, at last, I rest...). |
Exhibitions |
During her lifetime, Vigée Le Brun's work was publicly exhibited in Paris at the Académie de Saint-Luc (1774), Salon de la Correspondance (1779, 1781, 1782, 1783) and Salon of the Académie in Paris (1783, 1785, 1787, 1789, 1791, 1798, 1802, 1817, 1824). |
The first retrospective exhibition of Vigée Le Brun's work was held in 1982 at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. The first major international retrospective exhibition of her art premiered at the Galeries nationales du Grand Palais in Paris (2015—2016). It was subsequently shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (2016) and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa (2016). |
Portrayal in popular culture |
The 2014 docudrama made for French television, Le fabuleux destin d'Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun, directed by Arnaud Xainte, and starring Marlène Goulard and Julie Ravix as the young and old Elisabeth respectively, is available in English as The Fabulous Life of Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun. |
An episode of the 1980 BBC television series, 100 Great Paintings, presented by the art historian and author, Anita Brookner, featured Vigée Le Brun's Self-portrait with her Daughter, 1789. |
In the episode "The Portrait" from the BBC series Let Them Eat Cake (1999) written by Peter Learmouth, starring Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, Madame Vigée Le Brun (Maggie Steed) paints a portrait of the Comtesse de Vache (Jennifer Saunders) weeping over a dead canary. |
Vigée Le Brun is one of only three characters in Joel Gross's Marie Antoinette: The Color of Flesh (premiered in 2007), a fictionalized historical drama about a love triangle set against the backdrop of the French Revolution. |
Vigée Le Brun's portrait of Marie Antoinette is featured on the cover of the 2010 album Nobody's Daughter by Hole. |
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun is a dateable non-player character in the historically-based dating sim video game Ambition: A Minuet in Power published by Joy Manufacturing Co. |
Singer-songwriter Kelly Chase released the song "Portrait of a Queen" in 2021 to accompany the History Detective Podcast, Season 2, Episode 3 Marie Antionette's Portrait Artist: Vigée Le Brun. |
Gallery |
Portraits painted in France |
Portraits painted in Italy |
Portraits painted in Austria |
Portraits painted in Russia |
See also |
Marie-Victoire Lemoine |
Women artists |
Notes |
References |
Literature and resources |
University of Pennsylvania, Memoirs of Madame Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Translated by Lionel Strachey, Copyright 1903, by Doubleday, Page & Company, Published, October, 1903 |
External links |
Vigée-Lebrun, Louise-Elisabeth. The Memoirs of Madame Vigée Lebrun – via Project Gutenberg. |
"Artcyclopedia entry: Marie Louise Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun". |
Jeffares, Neil. Dictionary of Pastellists before 1800 (Online ed.). |
"Works of art by Vigée Le Brun in British Collections". Art UK. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. |
"Gallery of works by Vigée Le Brun, articles, her memoirs, and biographical information". Archived from the original on 5 December 1998. |
"Vigée Le Brun: Woman Artist in Revolutionary France". Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
Works by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks) |
Katherine Baetjer: "Vigée Le Brun: Woman Artist in Revolutionary France.", Modern Arts Notes Podcast |
Rice, John A.; Heartz, Daniel (2014). "Elizabeth Vigée-Lebrun's Portrait of Giovanni Paisiello". In Wilcox, Beverly (ed.). Artists and Musicians: Portrait Studies from the Rococo to the Revolution. Ann Arbor: Steglein Publishing. |
Antoine Bourdelle (30 October 1861 – 1 October 1929), born Émile Antoine Bordelles, was an influential and prolific French sculptor and teacher. He was a student of Auguste Rodin, a teacher of Giacometti and Henri Matisse, and an important figure in the Art Deco movement and the transition from the Beaux-Arts style to modern sculpture. |
His studio became the Musée Bourdelle, an art museum dedicated to his work, located at 18, rue Antoine Bourdelle, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, France. |
Early life and education |
Émile Antoine Bourdelle was born at Montauban, Tarn-et-Garonne in France on 30 October 1861. His father was a wood craftsman and cabinet-maker. In 1874, at the age of thirteen, he left school to work in his father's workshop, and also began carving his first sculptures of wood. |
In 1876, with the assistance of writer Émile Pouvillon, he received a scholarship to attend the School of Fine Arts in Toulouse, though he remained fiercely independent and resisted the formal program. In 1884, at the age of twenty-four, he earned second place in the competition to enter the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. There he worked in the studio of Alexandre Falguière and frequented the studio of Jules Dalou, who was his neighbor. |
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