About the Artist

Marie-Louise-Elosabeth Vigee-Lebrun (1755 Paris-1842 Paris) first learned her craft from her father, the pastel painter Louis Bigee, and then from Gabriel Doyen and Gabriel Briard. She furthered her education by studying the paintings of Peter Paul Rubens, Anthonis van Dyck and Rembrandt in the art collection of Paris. In 1776 Elisabeth Vigee married Lebrun, the wealthy painter and art dealer. In 1779, at the tender age of just 24 years, Queen Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793) appointed her to the role of court painter. In 1783 she was accepted into the Acdemy of Fine Arts, and from then on she was allowed to exhibit her works each year in the Salon of the Louvre. During the French Revolution she fled first to Rome in 1789, and then on to Berlin, Dresden, St. Petersburg and London. She finally returned to Paris in 1809 as a highly esteemed portraitist of the European aristocracy. Among her major works are Portrait of Joseph Bernet, 1778, Musee du Louvre, Paris; Portrait of Queen Marie-Antoinette, 1783, Musee National du Chateau de Versailles et de Trianon, Versailles; and Portrait of Hubert Robert, 1788, Musee du Louvre, Paris.