Souvenirs of Madame Vigée Le Brun

by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun

The most accomplished female painter of her age, Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1755–1842) is best remembered for her many portraits of Queen Marie Antoinette of France. Her two-volume autobiography was published in France in 1835–7, and this English version (of which the translator is unknown) in 1879. It begins with a series of ten letters to a Russian friend, Princess Kourakin, describing her family and early life, her artistic training, and her rise to the position of portraitist to the queen. The letters end with the Revolution and Vigée-Lebrun's flight the 'souvenirs' which follow describe her years of exile and her eventual return to France. Throughout her life, she supported herself and her family by her painting.Part 1 - ends with her staying in Austria, after a tour of the cities of Italy, during which she studied art as well as participating in the life of high society.Part 2 - recounts her extended stay in Russia, where she painted many of the aristocracy, a brief return to Paris, a visit to England, and her final return to France.

367 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 23, 2023

About the author

Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun - also known as Madame Lebrun or Madame Le Brun - was a prominent French portrait painter of the late eighteenth century.

Her artistic style is generally considered part of the aftermath of Rococo with elements of an adopted Neoclassical style. Her subject matter and color palette can be classified as Rococo, but her style is aligned with the emergence of Neoclassicism. Vigée Le Brun created a name for herself in Ancien Régime society by serving as the portrait painter to Marie Antoinette. She enjoyed the patronage of European aristocrats, actors, and writers, and was elected to art academies in ten cities.

Vigée Le Brun created some 660 portraits and 200 landscapes. In addition to many works in private collections, her paintings are owned by major museums, such as the Louvre, Hermitage Museum, National Gallery in London, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and many other collections in continental Europe and the United States.