Vigee Le Brun
Published on 8. March 2016
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-1-58839-581-8 (ISBN)
Description
A sumptuous monograph of the renowned portraitist and friend of Marie Antoinette in Revolutionary France
Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun (1755-1842) was one of the greatest 18th-century French painters and among the most important women artists of all time. Celebrated for her expressive portraits of French royalty and aristocracy, especially of her patron and friend Marie Antoinette, she exemplified artistic success and personal resourcefulness in an age when women were rarely allowed either. Forced to flee France during the Revolution, Le Brun traveled throughout Europe for sixteen years, painting royal and noble sitters in the courts of Naples, Russia, Austria, Poland, and Germany. She returned to France in 1805, under the reign of Emperor Napoleon I, where her artistic career continued to flourish.
Alongside 85 of her finest paintings and drawings from international museums and collections, this handsome volume details Vigee Le Brun's story, portraying a talented and intelligent artist who was able to negotiate a shifting political and geographic landscape. Providing further context for the life of this extraordinary individual, essays by international experts address topics such as her travels in exile and the position of women artists in the Salons.
Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press
Exhibition Schedule:
Grand Palais, Paris
(09/23/15-01/11/16)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
(02/15/16-05/15/16)
National Gallery of Canada
(06/10/16-09/12/16)
Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun (1755-1842) was one of the greatest 18th-century French painters and among the most important women artists of all time. Celebrated for her expressive portraits of French royalty and aristocracy, especially of her patron and friend Marie Antoinette, she exemplified artistic success and personal resourcefulness in an age when women were rarely allowed either. Forced to flee France during the Revolution, Le Brun traveled throughout Europe for sixteen years, painting royal and noble sitters in the courts of Naples, Russia, Austria, Poland, and Germany. She returned to France in 1805, under the reign of Emperor Napoleon I, where her artistic career continued to flourish.
Alongside 85 of her finest paintings and drawings from international museums and collections, this handsome volume details Vigee Le Brun's story, portraying a talented and intelligent artist who was able to negotiate a shifting political and geographic landscape. Providing further context for the life of this extraordinary individual, essays by international experts address topics such as her travels in exile and the position of women artists in the Salons.
Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press
Exhibition Schedule:
Grand Palais, Paris
(09/23/15-01/11/16)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
(02/15/16-05/15/16)
National Gallery of Canada
(06/10/16-09/12/16)
Reviews / Votes
"The research is meticulously detailed and presented in an accessible, understated way. There is a succinct biographical essay, a crisply written overview of women artists' dealings with the Academie, and an account of Vigee Le Brun's travels. The real treasures, though, are the artworks themselves, generously presented in colour reproduction."-Melissa Percival, French StudiesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
166 color illus.
Dimensions
Height: 267 mm
Width: 229 mm
Weight
1678 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-58839-581-8 (9781588395818)
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Schweitzer Classification