Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842)
Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), Portrait of the queen said "to the rose" (detail) - oil on canvas / H.113; L.87 cm (H.44; L.34 in)
On May 31, 1783, Elisabeth Vigee-Le Brun, protected by the Queen, was received at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture along...
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Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842)
Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), Portrait of the queen said "to the rose" (detail) - oil on canvas / H.113; L.87 cm (H.44; L.34 in)
On May 31, 1783, Elisabeth Vigee-Le Brun, protected by the Queen, was received at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture along with her competitor Adelaide Labille-Guiard. The same year, she exhibited for the first time at the Salon. Vigée-Le Brun presents in particular a new portrait of the queen, wearing the "gaulle" or "shirt to the queen". Adapted to Parisian fashion by the fashionist Rose Bertin, this dress of muslin was the queen's favorite attire during her stays at the Petit Trianon, away from the Court. The visitors of the Salon were shocked by this portrait: the queen did not, in their eyes, wear an outfit worthy of her rank. The picture was hurriedly withdrawn.
Vigée-Le Brun painted a second portrait very quickly to expose it before the end of the Salon. Taking up the pose of the first painting, this time she dressed the queen with a classic blue-gray silk dress, marking Marie-Antoinette's implicit support to the silky-makers of Lyon. The presentation of this second portrait was a great success. Several replicas were made, including the one preserved at thePalace of Versailles.
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