
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun Painting Reproductions 1 of 2
1755-1842
French Neoclassical Painter
Marie-Louise-Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (April 16, 1755 - March 30, 1842) was a French painter, the most famous woman painter of the 18th century.
She was born in Paris, the daughter of a painter, from whom she received her first instruction, though she benefited more by the advice of Gabriel François Doyen, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Joseph Vernet and other masters of the period. By the time she was in her early teens, she was already painting portraits professionally. After her studio was seized for practicing without a license, she applied to the Académie de Saint Luc who willingly exhibited her works in their Salon. On 25 October 1774, she was made a member of the Académie.
In 1776, she married Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Lebrun, a painter and art dealer. She painted portraits of many of the nobility of the day and as her career blossomed, she was invited to the Palace of Versailles to paint Queen Marie-Antoinette. So pleased was the Queen that over the next several years, Vigée-Lebrun was commissioned to do numerous portraits of the Queen, her children, and other members of the Royal family and household.
In 1781 she and her husband toured Flanders and the Netherlands where the works of the Flemish masters inspired her to try new techniques. There, she painted portraits of some of the nobility, including the Prince of Nassau.
On May 31, 1783, Vigée-Lebrun was accepted as a member of France's Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture as a painter of historical allegory. Adelaide Labille-Guiard was also admitted on the same day. The admission of Vigée-Lebrun was opposed by the men in charge on the grounds that her husband was an art dealer, but eventually they were overruled by an order from Louis XVI after Marie-Antoinette put considerable pressure on her husband on behalf of her painter. The admission of more than one woman on the same day encouraged comparisons between the women instead of between one woman and the men members.
After the arrest of the royal family during the French Revolution Vigée-Lebrun fled France and lived and worked for some years in Italy, Austria, and Russia, where her experience in dealing with an aristocratic clientele was still useful. In Rome, her paintings met with great critical acclaim and she was elected to the Roman Accademia di San Luca. In Russia, she was received by the nobility and painted numerous members of Catherine the Great's family. While there, Vigée-Lebrun was made a member of the Academy of Fine Arts of St. Petersburg.
She was welcomed back to France during the reign of Emperor Napoleon I. Much in demand by the elite of Europe, she visited England at the beginning of the 19th century and painted the portrait of several British notables including Lord Byron. In 1807 she traveled to Switzerland and was made an honorary member of the Societe pour l'Avancement des Beaux-Arts of Geneva.
She published her memoirs in 1835 and 1837, which provide an interesting view of the training of artists at the end of the period dominated by royal academies.
Still very active with her painting, in her fifties, she purchased a house in Louveciennes, Île-de-France, and lived there until the house was seized by the Prussian Army during the war in 1814. She stayed in Paris until her death on March 30, 1842 when her body was taken back to Louveciennes and buried in the cemetery near her old home.
Her tombstone epitaph states "Ici, enfin, je repose…" (Here, at last, I rest…).
Vigée-Lebrun is considered the most important female artist of the 18th century. She left behind 660 portraits and 200 landscapes. In addition to private collections, her works can be found at major museums in Europe and the United States.
She was born in Paris, the daughter of a painter, from whom she received her first instruction, though she benefited more by the advice of Gabriel François Doyen, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Joseph Vernet and other masters of the period. By the time she was in her early teens, she was already painting portraits professionally. After her studio was seized for practicing without a license, she applied to the Académie de Saint Luc who willingly exhibited her works in their Salon. On 25 October 1774, she was made a member of the Académie.
In 1776, she married Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Lebrun, a painter and art dealer. She painted portraits of many of the nobility of the day and as her career blossomed, she was invited to the Palace of Versailles to paint Queen Marie-Antoinette. So pleased was the Queen that over the next several years, Vigée-Lebrun was commissioned to do numerous portraits of the Queen, her children, and other members of the Royal family and household.
In 1781 she and her husband toured Flanders and the Netherlands where the works of the Flemish masters inspired her to try new techniques. There, she painted portraits of some of the nobility, including the Prince of Nassau.
On May 31, 1783, Vigée-Lebrun was accepted as a member of France's Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture as a painter of historical allegory. Adelaide Labille-Guiard was also admitted on the same day. The admission of Vigée-Lebrun was opposed by the men in charge on the grounds that her husband was an art dealer, but eventually they were overruled by an order from Louis XVI after Marie-Antoinette put considerable pressure on her husband on behalf of her painter. The admission of more than one woman on the same day encouraged comparisons between the women instead of between one woman and the men members.
After the arrest of the royal family during the French Revolution Vigée-Lebrun fled France and lived and worked for some years in Italy, Austria, and Russia, where her experience in dealing with an aristocratic clientele was still useful. In Rome, her paintings met with great critical acclaim and she was elected to the Roman Accademia di San Luca. In Russia, she was received by the nobility and painted numerous members of Catherine the Great's family. While there, Vigée-Lebrun was made a member of the Academy of Fine Arts of St. Petersburg.
She was welcomed back to France during the reign of Emperor Napoleon I. Much in demand by the elite of Europe, she visited England at the beginning of the 19th century and painted the portrait of several British notables including Lord Byron. In 1807 she traveled to Switzerland and was made an honorary member of the Societe pour l'Avancement des Beaux-Arts of Geneva.
She published her memoirs in 1835 and 1837, which provide an interesting view of the training of artists at the end of the period dominated by royal academies.
Still very active with her painting, in her fifties, she purchased a house in Louveciennes, Île-de-France, and lived there until the house was seized by the Prussian Army during the war in 1814. She stayed in Paris until her death on March 30, 1842 when her body was taken back to Louveciennes and buried in the cemetery near her old home.
Her tombstone epitaph states "Ici, enfin, je repose…" (Here, at last, I rest…).
Vigée-Lebrun is considered the most important female artist of the 18th century. She left behind 660 portraits and 200 landscapes. In addition to private collections, her works can be found at major museums in Europe and the United States.
46 Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun Paintings

Madame Perregaux 1789
Oil Painting
$3275
$3275
Canvas Print
$51.91
$51.91
SKU: LBE-2942
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 99.6 x 78.5 cm
The Wallace Collection, London, UK
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 99.6 x 78.5 cm
The Wallace Collection, London, UK

Self-Portrait 1800
Oil Painting
$2958
$2958
Canvas Print
$55.23
$55.23
SKU: LBE-2943
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 78.5 x 68 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 78.5 x 68 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Genius of Alexander I 1814
Oil Painting
$2411
$2411
Canvas Print
$58.60
$58.60
SKU: LBE-2944
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 110 x 84.5 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 110 x 84.5 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Bacchante 1785
Oil Painting
$3526
$3526
Canvas Print
$59.15
$59.15
SKU: LBE-2945
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 111.8 x 89 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California, USA
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 111.8 x 89 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California, USA

Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland, Marchioness Wellesley 1791
Oil Painting
$3100
$3100
Canvas Print
$94.11
$94.11
SKU: LBE-2946
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 99 x 75 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California, USA
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 99 x 75 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California, USA

Portrait of a Young Woman (Countess Worontzoff) c.1797
Oil Painting
$2946
$2946
Canvas Print
$60.46
$60.46
SKU: LBE-2947
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 82.2 x 70.5 cm
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts, USA
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 82.2 x 70.5 cm
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts, USA

Marie-Antoinette en Chemise a.1783
Oil Painting
$3001
$3001
Canvas Print
$59.55
$59.55
SKU: LBE-3216
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 92.7 x 73 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 92.7 x 73 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA

Portrait of Princess Maria Josepha Hermenegilde ... 1793
Oil Painting
$3078
$3078
Canvas Print
$53.64
$53.64
SKU: LBE-4248
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 221 x 159 cm
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna, Austria
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 221 x 159 cm
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna, Austria

Portrait of Princess Karoline von Liechtenstein, ... 1793
Oil Painting
$3227
$3227
Canvas Print
$89.67
$89.67
SKU: LBE-4249
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 221 x 159 cm
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna, Austria
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 221 x 159 cm
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna, Austria

Portrait of Yolande de Polastron, Duchess of Polignac 1782
Oil Painting
$2949
$2949
Canvas Print
$59.42
$59.42
SKU: LBE-8680
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 92.2 x 73.3 cm
Museum of Palace of Versailles, Paris, France
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 92.2 x 73.3 cm
Museum of Palace of Versailles, Paris, France

Portrait of Marie Antoinette n.d.
Oil Painting
$2817
$2817
SKU: LBE-11659
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 101.5 x 85 cm
Private Collection
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 101.5 x 85 cm
Private Collection

Madame Grand (Catherine Noele Worlee), Later ... 1783
Oil Painting
$3176
$3176
Canvas Print
$59.15
$59.15
SKU: LBE-12520
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 92.1 x 72.4 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 92.1 x 72.4 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Comtesse de la Chatre (Marie Louise Perrette ... 1789
Oil Painting
$3437
$3437
Canvas Print
$96.59
$96.59
SKU: LBE-12521
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 114.3 x 87.6 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 114.3 x 87.6 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Madame de Stael, as 'Corinne' 1807
Oil Painting
$2915
$2915
Canvas Print
$104.23
$104.23
SKU: LBE-12522
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: unknown
Public Collection
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: unknown
Public Collection

Marie Antoinette with a Rose 1783
Oil Painting
$4316
$4316
Canvas Print
$59.42
$59.42
SKU: LBE-12523
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 113 x 87 cm
Museum of Palace of Versailles, Paris, France
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 113 x 87 cm
Museum of Palace of Versailles, Paris, France

Marie Antoinette, Archduchess, Queen of France 1778
Oil Painting
$6733
$6733
Canvas Print
$87.72
$87.72
SKU: LBE-12524
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 273 x 193.5 cm
Public Collection
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 273 x 193.5 cm
Public Collection

Comtesse du Barry Holding a Rose 1778
Oil Painting
$3339
$3339
Canvas Print
$93.93
$93.93
SKU: LBE-12525
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

Maria Theresa of Bourbon n.d.
Oil Painting
$3129
$3129
Canvas Print
$87.54
$87.54
SKU: LBE-12526
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: unknown
Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte , Napoli, Italy
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: unknown
Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte , Napoli, Italy

Marie-Antoinette and her Children 1787
Oil Painting
$7274
$7274
Canvas Print
$59.00
$59.00
SKU: LBE-12527
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 275 x 215 cm
Museum of Palace of Versailles, Paris, France
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 275 x 215 cm
Museum of Palace of Versailles, Paris, France

Queen Marie-Antoinette 1788
Oil Painting
$5793
$5793
Canvas Print
$54.74
$54.74
SKU: LBE-12528
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 271 x 195 cm
Museum of Palace of Versailles, Paris, France
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 271 x 195 cm
Museum of Palace of Versailles, Paris, France

Madame Rousseau and her Daughter 1789
Oil Painting
$2880
$2880
Canvas Print
$56.95
$56.95
SKU: LBE-12529
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 115.5 x 86.5 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 115.5 x 86.5 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

Madame Mole-Raymond 1786
Oil Painting
$4751
$4751
Canvas Print
$90.74
$90.74
SKU: LBE-12530
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 104 x 76 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 104 x 76 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

The Countess Catherine Vassilievna Skavronskaia 1796
Oil Painting
$3001
$3001
Canvas Print
$61.90
$61.90
SKU: LBE-12531
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 80 x 66 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 80 x 66 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

Self Portrait in a Turban and her Daughter Julie 1786
Oil Painting
$2880
$2880
Canvas Print
$60.80
$60.80
SKU: LBE-12532
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 130 x 94 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun
Original Size: 130 x 94 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France