Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
1755–1842 · Neoclassicism · 4 works
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun made her reputation as a portrait painter in eighteenth-century France, winning royal commissions and admission to the Royal Academy in 1783. Her connection to Marie Antoinette led her to leave France during the Revolution; she continued working across Europe before returning. Her portraits range from elaborate statements of rank to more informal encounters. The early portrait of sculptor Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne shows that quieter register, concentrating on an alert gaze, a slight smile, and the textures of everyday clothing.
4 works · 1774–1789
Look at Lemoyne’s eyes and mouth before his clothing. How do these small details make the portrait feel like an encounter?
Angelica Kauffmann
Old Man Reading, 1763
Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson
The Meeting of Orestes and Hermione, c. 1800
Benjamin West
Elizabeth Shewell West and Her Son, Raphael, c. 1770
