“To paint is to love again.” Louise-Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun’s words define a life devoted to courage, beauty, and creation. Born in 1755, she overcame the barriers of a male-dominated art world, teaching herself by copying the works of Rembrandt, Rubens, and Van Dyck. By fifteen, she was a professional portraitist. In this episode, I discuss Louise-Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun: The Gaze Reclaimed, Part 6.
Appointed official portraitist to Marie Antoinette, Vigée-Lebrun captured not only the likeness but the humanity of her subjects. Her Self-Portrait in a Straw Hat, painted at twenty-seven, radiates joy and audacity: palette and brushes in hand, golden curls crowned with a straw hat adorned with flowers and a feather, her gaze meets ours across centuries, declaring creative freedom and personal triumph.
Exiled during the French Revolution, she travelled across Europe: London, Vienna, Italy, painting royalty, expanding her style, and leaving a legacy that empowered women artists for generations. Over six hundred works survive, and her memoirs chronicle her life, offering insight into her resilience, skill, and advocacy for women in art.
Vigée-Lebrun’s story is one of audacity, self-expression, and reclamation of the gaze; a timeless inspiration for all artists.
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