Louise-Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun - Portrait of an Artist, 1755-1842

This biography follows the remarkable life of Louise-Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, whose portraits of European royalty and nobility hang in many of the world's most important galleries. As a young woman in the male-dominated society of late 18th century France, she was denied an artistic education and forced to nurture her passion outside the restrictions of conventional schooling. Vigee Le Brun's vibrant art, in addition to her charm and beauty, caught the attention of Queen Marie-Antoinette, who honored her as her chosen painter. At the pinnacle of her fame and fortune, however, the Revolution forced Vigee Le Brun to flee Old Regime France, leaving everything behind except her only child.
Drawn from her memoirs, archival research, and reexamination of the judgment of her contemporaries, this book portrays a single working mother who survived because of her cachet, charisma, and artistic talent. Cast on a storm-tossed continent, solely reliant on her palette, Vigee Le Brun produced some of her major works during her twelve-year exile, returning to France to continue her work after Napoleon had restored stability. Her story is one of triumph, adversity, perseverance, and ultimately peace.

About the author

Former corporate executive Judith Lissauer Cromwell, is the author of three historical biographies about complex and famous women who shaped European history. She lives in New York.

Product details

• Authors: Judith Lissauer Cromwell, Cromwell Judith Lissauer
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: from age 18
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 25.04.2025
• EAN: 9781476694399
• ISBN: 978-1-4766-9439-9
• No. of pages: 243
• Dimensions: 178 mm x 254 mm x 12 mm
• Illustrations: Raster,schwarz-weiss
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Humanities, art, music > Art > Art history; Europe, Individual architects & architectural firms, Biography: arts & entertainment, History of Art, Individual photographers, baroque, Art & design styles: Baroque, Individual artists, art monographs, Biography: arts and entertainment, History of art & design styles: c 1600 to c 1800, Individual architects and architectural firms, rococo, ART / Movements / Baroque & Rococo, galleries; art