4.  Vigèe Le Brun: Woman Artist in Revolutionary France at the Met

Her name was Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun, born in Paris in 1755. She was to become the most well-known portraitist of the 18th century in France. She was known for her loose brushwork and bright colors, and her clientele included aristocracy and royalty. In 1779 she painted her first portrait of Marie Antoinette, which led to 29 more paintings of the queen over the next decade. It was Marie Antoinette who paved the way for Le Brun’s acceptance into the Academie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, France’s most prestigious professional association for artists, and an association that included very few women.

An interesting footnote to her life is that her French citizenship was revoked when she left the country during the Revolution, because of her close association with the queen. Her husband, who was the leading art dealer in Paris at the time, was forced to divorce her on the grounds of desertion. She did eventually return to Paris and they were reunited, although never remarried. Her fellow artists successfully petitioned to have her citizenship renewed. Vigee Le Brun’s fame and success was rare for a female artist in those times. She published her memoirs, titled Souvenirs in three volumes during the 1830’s, and died in her home in Paris in 1842.

Vine Le Brun: Woman Artist in Revolutionary France will be on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through May 15, 2016.