Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun

1755–1842

French portrait painter, traveller and memoirist

Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun was an exceptional painter, lived through the French revolution and traveled extensively throughout Europe for a few years before settling back in France to write her memoirs. At the age of 15, Elisabeth was earning enough money from her portrait painting to support herself, her widowed mother and her younger brother. She became Marie Antoinette’s favorite painter; European aristocrats, actors and writers were also her patrons; and she was elected a member of the art academies in 10 cities. Trained by her father, the portraitist Louis Vigée, she joined Paris’ Academy of Saint Luke at 19 years of age. Two years later she married Pierre Lebrun, an art dealer who helped her gain valuable access to the art world. Her talent soon came to the attention of the French queen, who in 1783 appointed her a member of Paris’ prestigious Academie Royale. As one of only four female academics, Vigée-Lebrun enjoyed a high artistic, social and political profile. But once the French Revolution came in 1789, she was forced to flee the country with her nine year old daughter. After living and painting in several european countries, she returned to France and wrote her memoirs ” Memoirs of a Painter” when she was 80 years old. She produced more than 600 paintings, many of them now in the major museums of the world.