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Memoirs of Elisabeth Vigée-Le Brun
In 1778, at the age of 23, the artist Elisabeth Vigée-le Brun painted her first portrait of Queen Marie Antoinette. Eleven years later, fearful for her life, she fled France on the eve of the French Revolution. Disguised as a peasant with her six-year-old daughter in tow, she embarked on a working voyage round the courts of Europe, painting the rich, clever, noble and beautiful of her day.
368 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2008
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About the author
Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
99 books8 followersÉlisabeth 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
March 3, 2024
2023/45
What an incredible surprise this book has been! Not only was it entertaining from cover to cover, but it was also well written, with very easy-to-follow prose, and a story that I never thought I would read and love someday.
If you had asked me who Madame Vigeé Le Brun was before reading this book, I wouldn't have known what to say; perhaps I would have told the truth: no, I genuinely don't know who she is/was, is she a writer? A poet? An opera singer? But after reading her book, Memoirs of Madame Vigeé Le Brun, which is more like recollections of her childhood—just a few of them—her youth, and her adulthood, I can't believe I was missing the opportunity to get to know a magnificent woman—a talented portrait painter.
Madame Le Brun tells us in her memoirs about her love for painting; how she was very fond of it since she was a little child, what her approach to painting was like while growing up with her family, especially some challenges she had to overcome after her father's death, and her first portraits. Speaking of which, one of her most famous portrait paintings is named Marie Antoinette with a Rose, painted in 1783—needless to say who the person in the painting is.
She also talks about her family, close friends, acquaintances, and overall the people around her who were willing to get a portrait painted by her. Hundreds of affluent families, powerful people, members of the nobility, and so on, were part of her world. Perhaps the thing that I enjoyed the most while reading these memoirs was that the author also describes what was happening around her and her group of friends at that time; the 'story' begins ten years or so before the French Revolution and ends a little after the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars, though the last chapter—the one that was the most moving for me—gives us further information about her life and the background, approximately what happened during the next twenty years regarding the events she talked about in the penultimate chapter (she wrote her book in 1835, so she could have written even more). The ending was memorable, and made the whole book memorable as well—it felt as if you were meeting a new friend, as though you were having a deep conversation with someone special who is telling you their life story—from the most casual events to the most important, personal moments of their life, the happiest and the saddest ones—and finally, that person gets to the point where you, the reader, sigh and say 'thank you' to your friend.
In terms of the writing style this book is not marvelous, it reads easily and you can tell Madame Le Brun was neither a novelist, nor an expert writer, but she managed to grab your attention from beginning to end, and that's true. Her sense of humor is also remarkable—it made me laugh quite a few times. Now, if you decide to pick up this book, please don't think here you are going to find an epic book or an adventure; it's more about society, manners, balls, parties, painting (lots of painting descriptions), and many, many names (people, cities, places, and the like). Perhaps this is the only thing I didn't enjoy that much; eventually, around ten people are the important ones in the book, whereas the others are completely forgettable.
Another reason to pick up this book: the author goes and lives in Russia, in both Saint Petersburg and Moscow, and the events there take place from the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century: you are right, she is leaving almost at the same time when War and Peace begins. Even though this is not a history book, you get the author's point of view; therefore, you can picture that society through her eyes—is it historically accurate? I couldn't put my finger on it, but it is nonetheless the point of view of someone who lived at that moment.
My rating on a scale of 1 to 5:
Quality of writing [4/5]
Pace [5/5]
Plot development [5/5]
Characters [4.5/5]
Enjoyability [5/5]
Insightfulness [3.5/5]
Easy of reading [5/5]
Photos/Illustrations [N/A]
Total [32/7] = 4.57
What an incredible surprise this book has been! Not only was it entertaining from cover to cover, but it was also well written, with very easy-to-follow prose, and a story that I never thought I would read and love someday.
If you had asked me who Madame Vigeé Le Brun was before reading this book, I wouldn't have known what to say; perhaps I would have told the truth: no, I genuinely don't know who she is/was, is she a writer? A poet? An opera singer? But after reading her book, Memoirs of Madame Vigeé Le Brun, which is more like recollections of her childhood—just a few of them—her youth, and her adulthood, I can't believe I was missing the opportunity to get to know a magnificent woman—a talented portrait painter.
Madame Le Brun tells us in her memoirs about her love for painting; how she was very fond of it since she was a little child, what her approach to painting was like while growing up with her family, especially some challenges she had to overcome after her father's death, and her first portraits. Speaking of which, one of her most famous portrait paintings is named Marie Antoinette with a Rose, painted in 1783—needless to say who the person in the painting is.
She also talks about her family, close friends, acquaintances, and overall the people around her who were willing to get a portrait painted by her. Hundreds of affluent families, powerful people, members of the nobility, and so on, were part of her world. Perhaps the thing that I enjoyed the most while reading these memoirs was that the author also describes what was happening around her and her group of friends at that time; the 'story' begins ten years or so before the French Revolution and ends a little after the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars, though the last chapter—the one that was the most moving for me—gives us further information about her life and the background, approximately what happened during the next twenty years regarding the events she talked about in the penultimate chapter (she wrote her book in 1835, so she could have written even more). The ending was memorable, and made the whole book memorable as well—it felt as if you were meeting a new friend, as though you were having a deep conversation with someone special who is telling you their life story—from the most casual events to the most important, personal moments of their life, the happiest and the saddest ones—and finally, that person gets to the point where you, the reader, sigh and say 'thank you' to your friend.
In terms of the writing style this book is not marvelous, it reads easily and you can tell Madame Le Brun was neither a novelist, nor an expert writer, but she managed to grab your attention from beginning to end, and that's true. Her sense of humor is also remarkable—it made me laugh quite a few times. Now, if you decide to pick up this book, please don't think here you are going to find an epic book or an adventure; it's more about society, manners, balls, parties, painting (lots of painting descriptions), and many, many names (people, cities, places, and the like). Perhaps this is the only thing I didn't enjoy that much; eventually, around ten people are the important ones in the book, whereas the others are completely forgettable.
Another reason to pick up this book: the author goes and lives in Russia, in both Saint Petersburg and Moscow, and the events there take place from the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century: you are right, she is leaving almost at the same time when War and Peace begins. Even though this is not a history book, you get the author's point of view; therefore, you can picture that society through her eyes—is it historically accurate? I couldn't put my finger on it, but it is nonetheless the point of view of someone who lived at that moment.
My rating on a scale of 1 to 5:
Quality of writing [4/5]
Pace [5/5]
Plot development [5/5]
Characters [4.5/5]
Enjoyability [5/5]
Insightfulness [3.5/5]
Easy of reading [5/5]
Photos/Illustrations [N/A]
Total [32/7] = 4.57
February 22, 2025
I love the Watteau-recalling scenes of her youth:
On Sundays and saints’ days, after hearing high mass, my mother and my stepfather took me to the Palais-Royal for a walk. The gardens there were then far more spacious and beautiful than they are now, strangled and straitened by the houses enclosing them. There was a very broad and long avenue on the left arched by gigantic trees, which formed a vault impenetrable to the rays of the sun. There good society assembled in its best clothes. The opera house was hard by the palace. In summer the performance ended at half-past eight, and all elegant people left even before it was over, in order to ramble in the garden. It was the fashion for the women to wear huge nosegays, which, added to the perfumed powder sprinkled in everybody’s hair, really made the air one breathed quite fragrant. Later, yet still before the Revolution, I have known these assembles to last until two in the morning. There was music by moonlight, out in the open; artists and amateurs sang songs; there was playing on the harp and the guitar; the celebrated Saint Georges often executed pieces on his violin. Crowds flocked to the spot.
June 30, 2016
The thing to note here is that Vigee Lebrun's autobiography reads exactly like a book written by an upper-class woman from the turn of the 18th century. If you're looking for some gripping epic, this is not the book for you; instead, it is almost a social log recording Vigee Lebrun's experiences and relationships. She writes extensively about her friends and high-society admirers and of the scenery and customs of the places she traveled to. She writes very little about her husband, with whom she had a distinctly troubled relationship, or about her daughter, whom she adored and who died before her mother after a marriage that Vigee Lebrun disapproved of. While the book provides her perspective, it is perhaps not the most well-rounded portrait of Vigee Lebrun. It's hardly a tell-all book, which makes sense within the social expectations that Vigee Lebrun had to live with in order to maintain her career, but it touches very little on the controversies of her life or the way other people perceived her.
That said, the autobiography is certainly a fascinating primary source. The book describes customs of various European nations, though from a distinctly wealthy French lens. The way Vigee Lebrun writes clearly shows her bias, but that bias in and of itself contributes to an understanding of Europe at this time. It is impossible to understand Europe without understanding the class divide inherent in social structure, and this book shows that quite clearly. While it's certainly not an exciting book, it does provide a look into the way French polite society worked, and the arts during that time.
August 2, 2019
Elizabeth-Louise Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842) was a prolific French portrait painter to royalty and the rich and famous. She was highly successful from an early age, and her portraits became desirable when she was still in her teens. By the time she was in her twenties she was painting portraits for Queen Marie-Antoinette. However, we all know what happened to the latter, but fortunately Mme Lebrun (she was by now married) managed to escape from France. She left behind her husband, but took her young daughter with her. After that there is hardly any mention of her husband. With the amount of work she did she was able to support herself financially. Her travels first took her to Italy where she visited various cities, but she also visited other cities such as Vienna and Prague before leaving for Russia.
She settled in St. Petersburg for a considerable period of time where she lived during the reign of both Catherine the Great, and the Emperor Paul. Once again she quickly established herself as portrait painter to royalty. She remained in Russia until after the murder of Paul.
Initially returning briefly to France, she went to live in England for a while. She found English customs very odd, but got used to it after a while. Finally she returned to France on a permanent basis.
There are some interesting tidbits in the book, but overall it didn't really hold my interest as some of the content descended into little more than celebrity gossip. What was interesting was the mention of events from someone who actually lived at the time, albeit from someone who viewed the world from a perch of privilege.
There are 18 ½ pages of her works listed at the end of the book, and there are several black and white reproductions of her portraits.
Self-portrait of Mme Vigée-Lebrun and her daughter
Portrait of Lady (Emma) Hamilton
She settled in St. Petersburg for a considerable period of time where she lived during the reign of both Catherine the Great, and the Emperor Paul. Once again she quickly established herself as portrait painter to royalty. She remained in Russia until after the murder of Paul.
Initially returning briefly to France, she went to live in England for a while. She found English customs very odd, but got used to it after a while. Finally she returned to France on a permanent basis.
There are some interesting tidbits in the book, but overall it didn't really hold my interest as some of the content descended into little more than celebrity gossip. What was interesting was the mention of events from someone who actually lived at the time, albeit from someone who viewed the world from a perch of privilege.
There are 18 ½ pages of her works listed at the end of the book, and there are several black and white reproductions of her portraits.
Self-portrait of Mme Vigée-Lebrun and her daughter
Portrait of Lady (Emma) Hamilton
December 24, 2017
I found it fascinating, although was hindered just a bit by the translation, which seemed to be stilted at times, and inaccurate at others.
With our modern worldview, we often assume that all women of previous centuries were downtrodden and uncelebrated. This may be true for many, but was certainly not the case for Vigee-LeBrun. She was an incredibly successful portrait artist in 18th century France, and fame followed her throughout Europe.
She was not the only feminine success found within these pages: she wasted no opportunity to mention other famous and infamous women of her day, pointing out their accomplishments and accolades. Among them were other artists, authors, poets, musicians, composers, actresses, and politicians.
She herself hobnobbed with just about every royal family in Europe, and her memoirs were as much about them as they were about herself. She also traveled extensively-quite the feat for a woman in that time and place, or so one would think.
One reminder that women didn't have quite the independence they desired was that her husband and stepfather managed her financial affairs without any input from her. To our modern sensibilities, it seems cruel that every franc she earned for her art went straight to her husband. Until she left him, that is. Then she lived as independently as any woman might desire.
I did like her descriptions of certain scenes, definitely written with an artist's eye. You could almost place yourself in the ballroom or on the banks of a river.
With our modern worldview, we often assume that all women of previous centuries were downtrodden and uncelebrated. This may be true for many, but was certainly not the case for Vigee-LeBrun. She was an incredibly successful portrait artist in 18th century France, and fame followed her throughout Europe.
She was not the only feminine success found within these pages: she wasted no opportunity to mention other famous and infamous women of her day, pointing out their accomplishments and accolades. Among them were other artists, authors, poets, musicians, composers, actresses, and politicians.
She herself hobnobbed with just about every royal family in Europe, and her memoirs were as much about them as they were about herself. She also traveled extensively-quite the feat for a woman in that time and place, or so one would think.
One reminder that women didn't have quite the independence they desired was that her husband and stepfather managed her financial affairs without any input from her. To our modern sensibilities, it seems cruel that every franc she earned for her art went straight to her husband. Until she left him, that is. Then she lived as independently as any woman might desire.
I did like her descriptions of certain scenes, definitely written with an artist's eye. You could almost place yourself in the ballroom or on the banks of a river.
December 29, 2015
Disappointing. Vigée Lebrun is cited as one of the most important female painters of the 18th century so I expected her memoir to extensively describe her training, technique and love of art -- nope. This book was nothing more than court gossip. 75% of the book felt merely like a record of compliments bestowed upon her by various courtiers. Despite all of this, at least it was an easy book to get through. It was interesting too to see what daily life was like for an upper class woman of that time.
January 15, 2022
Les mémoires d'Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun sont fascinants.
En quelques pages on découvre la vie de cette immense artiste qui a traversé différentes époques de l'Histoire de France.
Adulée à la cour de Louis XVI, elle devint portraitiste privilégiée de Marie Antoinette et les scènes qu'elle raconte sont émouvantes. Rare femme artiste reconnue par l'Academie, elle connaîtra la critique de ses pairs.
Durant la Révolution, et les journées de la Terreur, sa vie sera menacée et elle décidera de quitter la France.
Ce sera pour Vigee Le Brun le début d'une nouvelle vie: on la retrouve en exil, parcourant l'Europe et les différentes cours. Tour à tour en Italie, à Vienne ou en Russie, elle décrit avec précision la cour du Pape, ses excursions sur le Vésuve en pleine éruption, à naviguer sur une barque sur la Méditerranée, ou à pied sur des sentiers escarpés. Elle vivra à Vienne, connaîtra le grand froid de Saint Petersbourg et Moscou, grimpera le Mont Blanc... Reçue a Londres, elle deviendra l'amie du Prince de Galles, l'héritier de la couronne.
Plus que le récit d'une vie, c'est à la fois une plongée dans l'Histoire de l'Art et l'Histoire de l'Europe. Ses voyages et rencontres se font au grès des guerres Napoléoniennes et des différentes épopées politiques. Mais c'est aussi l'histoire d'une femme seule, abandonnée de son mari, qui tentera de faire carrière dans un milieu difficile. Son petit traité de conseils sur l'art du portrait à la fin du livre est tout autant fascinant.
Cette édition est enrichie de notes contextuelles très utiles. Seul bémol, il manque les illustrations des peintures mentionnées.
En quelques pages on découvre la vie de cette immense artiste qui a traversé différentes époques de l'Histoire de France.
Adulée à la cour de Louis XVI, elle devint portraitiste privilégiée de Marie Antoinette et les scènes qu'elle raconte sont émouvantes. Rare femme artiste reconnue par l'Academie, elle connaîtra la critique de ses pairs.
Durant la Révolution, et les journées de la Terreur, sa vie sera menacée et elle décidera de quitter la France.
Ce sera pour Vigee Le Brun le début d'une nouvelle vie: on la retrouve en exil, parcourant l'Europe et les différentes cours. Tour à tour en Italie, à Vienne ou en Russie, elle décrit avec précision la cour du Pape, ses excursions sur le Vésuve en pleine éruption, à naviguer sur une barque sur la Méditerranée, ou à pied sur des sentiers escarpés. Elle vivra à Vienne, connaîtra le grand froid de Saint Petersbourg et Moscou, grimpera le Mont Blanc... Reçue a Londres, elle deviendra l'amie du Prince de Galles, l'héritier de la couronne.
Plus que le récit d'une vie, c'est à la fois une plongée dans l'Histoire de l'Art et l'Histoire de l'Europe. Ses voyages et rencontres se font au grès des guerres Napoléoniennes et des différentes épopées politiques. Mais c'est aussi l'histoire d'une femme seule, abandonnée de son mari, qui tentera de faire carrière dans un milieu difficile. Son petit traité de conseils sur l'art du portrait à la fin du livre est tout autant fascinant.
Cette édition est enrichie de notes contextuelles très utiles. Seul bémol, il manque les illustrations des peintures mentionnées.
March 26, 2024
I rate this a 5/5 simply because she was an absolutely fascinating woman. If you have ever had the privilege of seeing her works in person, then you understand what I mean when I say that as an artist, she was quite a force. If you cannot go see a painting, please look her up if you enjoy painted portraits. Prepare to go down the rabbit hole (you’re welcome)!
I won’t say more so as to not spoil anything. Cheers to a mother, a wife, a confidant, an ICON.
I won’t say more so as to not spoil anything. Cheers to a mother, a wife, a confidant, an ICON.
March 29, 2022
Fascinating in many ways.
November 19, 2023
This is the 1835 equivalent of a celebrity memoir. If you are looking for a serious discussion of Vigee Le Brun's art and her position in the history of art, this is not the book for you. She wrote this towards the end of her life, for money I am sure. She is not introspective or self aware. Rather, she tells a lot of great stories about celebrities she hung out with and cool places she visited.
Celebrities back then were royalty and aristocrats with a smattering of writers, artists, scientists and philosophers. Mainly royalty/aristocrats, though. Vigee Le Brun never met a title she didn't like. Amazingly everyone she met with a title was brilliant, kind-hearted, beautiful and generally fascinating lol. The one mention in the book of a dinner party that had - gasp!- people who worked for a living she completely eviscerated all of them. She was disgusted and horrified to be there. When she mentioned servants and the lower classes - which she rarely did - it was to either praise a servant for their simple honest mien or to dismiss them as frightening amoral ugly monsters. The clincher was when she was in Russia, which still had slaves/serfs, and she commented that the simple serfs loved being owned by other people. They were too ignorant and untalented to be able to live on their own so they were thrilled, thrilled I tell you, to not have any freedom.Why, some Russian Prince even gave one of his serfs to Vigee Le Brun as a present and the man was happy to have that happen. Mmmm, she could be delusional at times.
My favorite parts of the book focused on her travels and her detailed descriptions of places and activities. For that era, she traveled A LOT. Especially for a woman. After fleeing the Revolution, she lived all across Italy, then Russia, Germany, Switzerland, England.....finally back to France. She lived through important historical events and had a front row seat at them. It was neat getting her first person perspective on things. Of course, that perspective was very slanted and biased, but fascinating to read nonetheless.
Even though she was a famous artist, she does not write much about the actual act of painting. You would read this more for the history aspect than the art aspect. I feel like I now need to go read a biography of her to find out what her life was really like. This memoir is very much a censored, narrow view of her life.
Celebrities back then were royalty and aristocrats with a smattering of writers, artists, scientists and philosophers. Mainly royalty/aristocrats, though. Vigee Le Brun never met a title she didn't like. Amazingly everyone she met with a title was brilliant, kind-hearted, beautiful and generally fascinating lol. The one mention in the book of a dinner party that had - gasp!- people who worked for a living she completely eviscerated all of them. She was disgusted and horrified to be there. When she mentioned servants and the lower classes - which she rarely did - it was to either praise a servant for their simple honest mien or to dismiss them as frightening amoral ugly monsters. The clincher was when she was in Russia, which still had slaves/serfs, and she commented that the simple serfs loved being owned by other people. They were too ignorant and untalented to be able to live on their own so they were thrilled, thrilled I tell you, to not have any freedom.Why, some Russian Prince even gave one of his serfs to Vigee Le Brun as a present and the man was happy to have that happen. Mmmm, she could be delusional at times.
My favorite parts of the book focused on her travels and her detailed descriptions of places and activities. For that era, she traveled A LOT. Especially for a woman. After fleeing the Revolution, she lived all across Italy, then Russia, Germany, Switzerland, England.....finally back to France. She lived through important historical events and had a front row seat at them. It was neat getting her first person perspective on things. Of course, that perspective was very slanted and biased, but fascinating to read nonetheless.
Even though she was a famous artist, she does not write much about the actual act of painting. You would read this more for the history aspect than the art aspect. I feel like I now need to go read a biography of her to find out what her life was really like. This memoir is very much a censored, narrow view of her life.
February 4, 2016
After viewing Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun's retrospective show in Paris last fall, I was determined to learn more about this woman painter. She was born to a middle-class family in France. Through sheer will and determination she became a successful painter in a man's world. Her portraits of Marie Antoinette alone guarantee her place in history.
Lebrun's memoirs are delicious. She describes life in a breezy, chatty way with an eye toward telling the reader about the secrets of the rich and famous. We read about food, fashion, parties and travel. Especially amusing are her comments about the other women of the time.
For example, Lebrun savages Emma Lyon, mistress of Lord Nelson. I had to ask myself why? Is it because Lyon went from rags to riches using her beauty to lure men? Was Elizabeth Lebrun being loyal to the noble wives that comprised her customer base?
So fabulous that this woman had the power of her talent to lead her through Europe and Russia making enough in fees to live well. I loved this book.
I must thank the community of volunteers who digitized this book. How wonderful we can read this book for free.
Lebrun's memoirs are delicious. She describes life in a breezy, chatty way with an eye toward telling the reader about the secrets of the rich and famous. We read about food, fashion, parties and travel. Especially amusing are her comments about the other women of the time.
For example, Lebrun savages Emma Lyon, mistress of Lord Nelson. I had to ask myself why? Is it because Lyon went from rags to riches using her beauty to lure men? Was Elizabeth Lebrun being loyal to the noble wives that comprised her customer base?
So fabulous that this woman had the power of her talent to lead her through Europe and Russia making enough in fees to live well. I loved this book.
I must thank the community of volunteers who digitized this book. How wonderful we can read this book for free.
March 19, 2018
A quand une série télévisée sur Elisabeth Vigée le Brun? J'attends.
January 19, 2021
Having decided to dissolve a biography shelf into its constituent subject areas, this art historical title floated to the top of the pile. I had not heard of the artist but apparently if you are interested in portraiture of the French nobility at the turn of the 19th century, she is an important name.
Vigée Lebrun's own father was a much less successful painter but gave her encouragement that other young women might not have received. They were not wealthy (he died young and the most cliched tyrannical step-father and early marriage to a domineering older man came along in quick succession). She was practical and pragmatic - her husband basically let her go her own way (not a hint of any subsequent affair in these pages) but she had to support herself. Which she did for decades, frequenting all the royal circles of Europe (France, Italy, Russia etc) and painting continually.
An unabashed royalist, she nevertheless did not stand on principle during the Reign of Terror (unlike many of her friends, who lost their heads for their trouble) and got right out of Paris.
Although the political and society vignettes are entertaining, she is at her best when actually writing about art and painting.
Vigée Lebrun's own father was a much less successful painter but gave her encouragement that other young women might not have received. They were not wealthy (he died young and the most cliched tyrannical step-father and early marriage to a domineering older man came along in quick succession). She was practical and pragmatic - her husband basically let her go her own way (not a hint of any subsequent affair in these pages) but she had to support herself. Which she did for decades, frequenting all the royal circles of Europe (France, Italy, Russia etc) and painting continually.
An unabashed royalist, she nevertheless did not stand on principle during the Reign of Terror (unlike many of her friends, who lost their heads for their trouble) and got right out of Paris.
Although the political and society vignettes are entertaining, she is at her best when actually writing about art and painting.
September 28, 2025
Elisabeth Vigáe Le Brun is one of my favourite artists. There is something dreamy and idealistic in all her portraits, as if she were intent on capturing the inner goodness she believed her sitters all possessed, rather than just copying their features. She was a celebrity of the first order and personally knew and met everybody who was anybody in her time. Royals, nobles, other artists, she could easily boast about being acquainted with them all, and her memoirs are, among other things, a list of those illustrious names completed with her impressions and "pen portraits". She certainly didn´t lack self-confidence and made sure the reader would be familiar with the praise and compliments she was constantly receiving. Modest, she was not,; privileged she was in abundance. But as a product of her own time and class, she was also completely unaware of that privilege and thus some of her notes make a modern reader feel rather awkward.
I think this is an excellent source material for any historian wanting to be in the head of somebody interesting, who had a first-hand experience with other, even more interesting people. Sometimes it reads less than thrillingly, but if you take it slow, you can also enjoy her descriptions of the countryside, of palaces and of course, her paintings.
I think this is an excellent source material for any historian wanting to be in the head of somebody interesting, who had a first-hand experience with other, even more interesting people. Sometimes it reads less than thrillingly, but if you take it slow, you can also enjoy her descriptions of the countryside, of palaces and of course, her paintings.
March 25, 2021
My interest in Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun began In 2016 when the National Gallery in Ottawa showed 90 of her some 600 finished portraits. Rich colorful rococo neoclassical paintings done with masterly detail.
For me the exhibit was another woman almost entirely ignored from my 1980’s college art history classes! And she was extraordinarily famous in her time as the portraitist of the ill fated French aristocracy.
I bought a copy of her memoir at a museum gift store and slowly have read it off and on since.
Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
(1755–1842)
Her memoir proves her to be a confident woman with a good opinion of herself and her work. I think we can say that it’s well deserved but still I had to roll my eyes sometimes.
Considering the hard knocks in her life she perseveres with good spirits and a lifelong love of art and the artistic process.
Not an riveting read but an interesting look at a historic woman artist.
For me the exhibit was another woman almost entirely ignored from my 1980’s college art history classes! And she was extraordinarily famous in her time as the portraitist of the ill fated French aristocracy.
I bought a copy of her memoir at a museum gift store and slowly have read it off and on since.
Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
(1755–1842)
Her memoir proves her to be a confident woman with a good opinion of herself and her work. I think we can say that it’s well deserved but still I had to roll my eyes sometimes.
Considering the hard knocks in her life she perseveres with good spirits and a lifelong love of art and the artistic process.
Not an riveting read but an interesting look at a historic woman artist.
February 10, 2021
Not being knowledgeable about painters, I admit to not having heard of Elisabeth Vigée-Le Brun before reading this, so didn’t no what to expect from her memoirs.
I hoped for some insights to the times she lived in, which is exactly what I got. In fact, I got more than expected, as not only did she paint many royals and nobles, they treated her with great respect. Madame Vigée-Le Brun was a celebrity in her time.
When she described some of her paintings of Marie Antoinette, I at once recognised them from pictures I’ve seen online.
She offers glimpses of history that I haven’t previously read or heard of, including instances of Marie Antoinette, Catherine II of Russia, and Napoleon.
Madame Vigée-Le Brun made a good impression on me. I like her personality and subtle sense of humour.
This is one of several memoirs I’ve now read by French ladies of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and one thing they all have in common is the gift of eloquent and engaging writing. They have the ability to make trivial matters sound interesting.
I hoped for some insights to the times she lived in, which is exactly what I got. In fact, I got more than expected, as not only did she paint many royals and nobles, they treated her with great respect. Madame Vigée-Le Brun was a celebrity in her time.
When she described some of her paintings of Marie Antoinette, I at once recognised them from pictures I’ve seen online.
She offers glimpses of history that I haven’t previously read or heard of, including instances of Marie Antoinette, Catherine II of Russia, and Napoleon.
Madame Vigée-Le Brun made a good impression on me. I like her personality and subtle sense of humour.
This is one of several memoirs I’ve now read by French ladies of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and one thing they all have in common is the gift of eloquent and engaging writing. They have the ability to make trivial matters sound interesting.
May 27, 2022
This is a brief, easy read. Much of it reads as court gossip; it's definitely not an insider look at how Lebrun honed her craft as the focus is more on the relationships she formed and the events she lived through. She recollects her youth (briefly), the beginnings of her career and marriage, and the interactions and relationships she formed with French, Russian, and English aristocracy and royalty during her celebrated career.
I felt that the translation was well done, I can't speak for how accurate it was but it never felt stuffy and it maintained my interest.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in Lebrun's work or French history in general.
I felt that the translation was well done, I can't speak for how accurate it was but it never felt stuffy and it maintained my interest.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in Lebrun's work or French history in general.
October 26, 2020
Madame Le Brun was an amazing painter who painted before, during, and after the French revolution. She talks about not just her painting, but of Marie Antoinette herself, along with famous french citizens, including snippets of their fate during the revolution. She describes meeting various different members of royalty across Europe, along with her tales of travel and what cities were like in the past. Sometimes when re-reading, I forget that this is a true story, and I find myself amazed by the similarities of the modern day and past world.
April 15, 2019
I was hoping the memoir of Marie Antoinette's portrait artist would have gone deeper than this. Instead of exploring emotions or the tumultuous events of her day, or even her painting techniques, it was more of a journal of social engagements which barely kept me turning the pages.
May 5, 2020
I love lebrun - I’m also certain she was gay or bisexual. She explains how she wasn’t attracted to her husband at all and that she was doubting their wedding, and when it comes to sitters she laments for paragraphs on the beauty of her female sitters but never elaborates on the men. What a woman!
April 19, 2024
this woman was truly the master of networking. i would abandon all of my principles and become a stalwart monarchist if i had gaggles of aristocrats falling over themselves to let me live in their mansion. long live marie antoinette
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March 12, 2020hey everybody look it's my profile picture. say hi.
December 16, 2021
Ah, to be a female artist in the 18th century, travelling through Europe and hanging out in literary salons...
November 12, 2022
I like this book because I think the notes was very interesting!
August 18, 2025
The anecdotes with Marie Antoinette were a lot of fun!
March 26, 2019
Overall very charming. She played the networking game the way it was played then and she was good at it, so there's a lot of name dropping. She threw her lot with the aristocracy and one gets the sense that for her only people with titles are real people. A very vivid picture of the era and the manners though. A very humane view of the upper classes in the middle of the seismic changes of the French Revolution.
February 4, 2017
I don't feel this was the best translation, as it was hard to read and there were some grammatical errors. Having said that, I enjoyed reading about the life of this famous artist in her own words, giving me a glimpse of life some 200 years ago. It's really interesting to see how human nature has been the same for centuries, but the way people entertained themselves and treated each other has changed quite a bit.
Madame Lebrun enjoyed independence in a time when most women had very few options. She loved what she did for a living, was very good at it, and was paid well for her work (what a concept). She got to travel a lot and spent years living in various countries around Europe. It's great to read her descriptions of what life was like in Catherine's Russia and 19th century London. Overall a lovely autobiography.
Madame Lebrun enjoyed independence in a time when most women had very few options. She loved what she did for a living, was very good at it, and was paid well for her work (what a concept). She got to travel a lot and spent years living in various countries around Europe. It's great to read her descriptions of what life was like in Catherine's Russia and 19th century London. Overall a lovely autobiography.
April 4, 2022
As much as I admire for what she accomplished as an 18th-century female artist, I was a little disappointed in this memoir. Vigee-Lebrun would put today's worst/best name-dropper to shame. Despite surviving much political upheaval, a bad marriage and travels throughout Europe, the memoir reads like a litany of the royals and aristocrats with whom she hobnobbed and how beautiful and charming the ladies always were. She does have moments where she succeeded in painting with words as effectively as on canvas, particularly in her descriptions of London and Russia. Overall, I would recommend this book more as a reference rather than as a pleasure read.
October 22, 2013
The memoirs of the famous french portrait painter Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun.
The book is a quick read that's light on facts and gives a general overview of her life. In that way it seems very much like a true autobiography, where at no point you question how could one remember so much detail and it does not feel fake.
In many ways it is a portrait of the late 18th and early 19th century world, and the people the author met during her lifetime.
Might not be enjoyed by all, but I found it very good.
The book is a quick read that's light on facts and gives a general overview of her life. In that way it seems very much like a true autobiography, where at no point you question how could one remember so much detail and it does not feel fake.
In many ways it is a portrait of the late 18th and early 19th century world, and the people the author met during her lifetime.
Might not be enjoyed by all, but I found it very good.
August 5, 2021
An interesting "memoir".
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