Among the many names of famous painters that everyone has heard (Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh and others), there is the name of a woman who, perhaps now, is not so popular, but left a rich inheritance from her paintings. And in the period of her life and the heyday of creativity, she was even a court artist! Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun - this is who we are talking about.
early years
Marie Elizabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun (then still just Vigee) was born in 1755 in Paris, in the artist's family. The family was creative - the brother of Elizabeth, Etienne, later became a writer, and a similar atmosphere of celebration, creativity, entertainment reigned in their house the whole childhood of little Lizzie. Louis's father was from a simple working-class family who made his own name, a kind and cheerful person (unlike his wife Jeanne - a grumpy and tough disposition), and their house was always full of guests. What kind of people did not visit them! From childhood, Elizabeth and Etienne were familiar with Voltaire, Didro, Dream. Mother never participated in communication with the guests - she did not like her husband’s lifestyle, and she wanted the children to behave the same way she did. However, that the eldest daughter, that the youngest son went to father.
From the age of six, Elizabeth Vigee became a pupil of a Catholic pension at the insistence of her mother. The girl was bored there, and instead of listening to mentors, she painted in a notebook. She was abused by her mother and teachers, only her father rejoiced when he learned that his beloved daughter had followed in his footsteps. Since that time, he decided to teach her painting, which he did by taking her from the guesthouse.
Carier start
From the age of eight, young Lizzy diligently studied drawing under the strict guidance of her father and made progress. However, at the age of twelve, everything collapsed: the father died suddenly. Mother very soon found a new husband, a court jeweler. He was very wealthy, but, like his wife, completely discouraged his stepdaughter's hobbies. Elizabeth had a hard time, but she was lucky: her father’s two friends agreed to give her free lessons and, having examined the girl’s undoubted talent, began to bother about the exhibitions of her works. Soon, cultural Paris began talking about a new rising star - the young Elizabeth Vigee.
From the age of fifteen, Elizabeth began to earn so much with her skill that she could fully support the well-being of the family. This changed the attitude towards her choice of both her mother and stepfather - the latter became much friendlier and did not miss the opportunity to caress Lizzy. She dreamed of “flying out of the nest” as soon as possible.
Creative manner
The paintings of Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun from an early age were distinguished by an interesting feature: she, having understood early that the rich love flattery, was intensely engaged in precisely this in painting. Her work is somewhat theatrical, exaggerated, idealized. People captured by her in the pictures appear in the most winning light. Of course, they could not help but love her for this, and as a teenager, she earned the title of "talented portrait painter." In this manner, Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun continued to write all her life.
Marriage
Elizabeth's dream to leave her father's house came true when she was twenty: in 1775, she married Jean-Baptiste Lebrun. He was a merchant - he sold paintings and painted them, but he never became as popular as his wife. This is not to say that Elizabeth loved her husband - she married him by calculation, knowing full well that this was her chance, firstly, to flee home, where there was no strength to endure the harassment of her stepfather, and secondly, to get profitable connections, because Lebrun was familiar with many influential people.
Therefore, despite the fact that many friends (including, by the way, her stepfather) dissuaded her from this marriage, telling about Lebrun many not too good things (that he is a drunkard, a lover of women and gambling, that he does not have willpower ), she married him. And Lebrun, in any case, was glad to have such a beautiful wife - Elizabeth completely blossomed by the age of twenty, turning into a young charming woman (her beauty is clearly visible on self-portraits, of which she wrote a lot).
Husband and wife supported rather partnerships: he introduced her to the aristocratic circle of the “upper elite”, where she found new customers. The artist painstakingly drew and earned more than her husband, whose business, frankly, did not go uphill too much. The paintings of Elizabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun became more and more popular, she overgrown with customers, and the couple opened a private gallery where they exhibited works. In addition to profitable clients, the portrait painter and profitable patrons found her - she was patronized by the most notable houses.
Jeanne-Julie
Five years later, the first and only child was born to the Lebrun spouses - the daughter of Jeanne-Julia Louis. Elizabeth, who loved the baby more than anything else, called her just Julie and did not let go of herself for a second. Her daughter was a real ray for her in a not very happy marriage - Elizabeth’s relations with her husband did not go well, becoming more and more cool day after day (after a while they even began to live separately).
And although at that time it was customary to hire governesses, Elizabeth spent all the time with the child and drew a lot of herself and her daughter together. The girl, by the way, was surprisingly similar to her mother and was not inferior to her in beauty, and, having matured, even surpassed her.
Marie Antoinette
Two years before the birth of her daughter in the life of Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun, an amazing event occurred that completely turned her life upside down - her acquaintance with Queen Marie Antoinette. The rumor of a talented portrait painter reached the court, and in 1778 Elizabeth was invited to Versailles to paint a portrait of the royal person. From the very first moment they met, the two girls became close to each other - Marie Antoinette, brought to France from Austria, felt like a stranger in Paris and eagerly succumbed to the flattery and compliments of Elizabeth, for whom, of course, the patronage of the crowned lady was absolutely out of place.
Thus began the amazing adventures in the life of Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun. She became the queen's new amusement, her entertainment, companion, favorite - you can call it whatever you like, the essence will remain the same. A year later, Marie Antoinette appointed the girl the official court painter, but Elizabeth’s responsibilities were not limited to drawing: she walked with the queen, played the harpsichord, sang a duet, traveled - in general, she was practically inseparable with her.
For more than ten years of close friendship with Queen Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun painted more than thirty portraits of her. She portrayed Marie Antoinette alone, with her children, in different halls and outfits, and, of course, a little more ideal than it really was. The Queen enthusiastically accepted every work of the artist and in 1783 contributed to the fact that Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun became a member of the Royal Academy of Arts. This event gave rise to an unprecedented public outcry - because at that time it was not customary to accept women in such institutions (since they taught to draw a man from a naked male nature there). Nevertheless, Elizabeth, with the help of Marie Antoinette, succeeded, and the envy of her, already great, increased at times. In addition to the portraits of the queen, Elizabeth painted other noble people close to the court - mostly women with whom she felt more at ease.
The last portrait of Marie Antoinette by Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun appeared in 1789, and in the same year the queen cooled to her beloved. This happened through the efforts of one of her colleagues, Elizabeth, who considered that she had taken her place at court. She spread gossip around Paris about Vigee-Lebrun’s romance with the Minister of Finance, as well as their fake correspondence in which they allegedly mocked the queen. The pride of Marie Antoinette was wounded, and she did not want to see Elizabeth anymore. It is not known what would happen next if it were not for the well-known historical events - the Great French Revolution was approaching.
French revolution
After parting with Marie Antoinette in 1789, Elizabeth never saw her again - the queen died on the scaffold, as, indeed, some court ladies. The artist herself would have expected the same fate, because she was the queen's favorite, but Elizabeth felt the danger in time and, wanting to save her daughter and herself, hurriedly left France. Leaving Paris, she could not even think that her “voyage” would drag on for eleven years.
The first country visited by Elizabeth and Julie was Italy. Having visited Rome and Naples, having painted portraits of several distinguished persons there, Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun was about to return home, believing that everything had already calmed down. However, a surprise awaited her at home: the name of the artist was included in the list of counterrevolutionaries who were to be arrested and sent to trial, which would ultimately mean death. Therefore, with the return I had to wait. So, with a stop in Austria, Elizabeth and Julie were in Russia.
Russia
In St. Petersburg, the French artist lived for almost six years - from 1795 to 1801. Both the country and the city, and the Russian people made the most favorable impression on her, which she, being true to herself, testified in her diaries. But it was just not very well received - to be more precise, it was accepted by Empress Catherine the Second.
The fame of Elizabeth rolled in front of her, and, having arrived in Petersburg, the artist quickly overgrown with orders. Clients admired her vying, and Catherine also wanted to find out why the Frenchwoman was so beautiful. She ordered Vigee-Lebrun a portrait of her granddaughters Elena and Alexandra. The work was completed on time, but the eminent customer did not like it at all. Brought up in a different spirit than Europeans, admiring the idealized Rococo theatricality, Catherine preferred Baroque and wanted to see the truth, rather than the "combed" picture. In the portrait of girls painted by Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun, the empress, by her own admission, did not find any resemblance to the original, "neither taste, nor nobility." In the future, Catherine spoke with contempt and indignation about the French artist, however, she was not particularly embarrassed - she already had plenty of orders.
During her stay in Russia, Elizabeth's daughter, Jeanne-Julie, married and fled from her mother, thereby repeating her own path. When Elizabeth was about to leave Russia, Julie and her husband still remained there.
Return to France
In France, meanwhile, “rule ball” Napoleon. He more than coolly reacted to Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun, and the high society had already forgotten her for the time while she was absent. There was no money, there was nowhere to live - the former spouse (they divorced with Jean-Baptiste shortly after Elizabeth and Julie left for Italy) took the house to himself. Therefore, the artist made for herself the only right decision - to leave again. This time the goal was England, which was so fond of Elizabeth that she lived in it for seven whole years.
She returned to France (this time forever) at the personal invitation of Napoleon, who suddenly remembered the former glory of Elizabeth. By that time she was already in her fifties, and she could not work as fast as before. And France was no longer what she remembered - according to the latest recognition of Elizabeth, she could not accept and love her new country.
Soon after returning to France, Julie came there with her husband. She began to live with her mother, but tragically died in 1813. With her departure, Elizabeth lost the meaning of life. The works of Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun began to appear less and less, until, finally, the artist stopped writing at all - first self-portraits, so beloved by her before, then everything else.
In 1842, Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun died at the age of 86. Only a few people escorted her to the last journey - all those who remained from former admirers of the portrait painter.
Interesting Facts
- She hated wigs to trembling, did not wear them herself and at one time even refused to marry a man who wore a wig.
- She called herself happy, only standing behind an easel.
- She achieved such perfection that she could paint a beautiful portrait in two to three hours. As a result, prices for her paintings were even higher than many famous artists of that era.
- Some paintings of her authorship are erroneously attributed to the brushes of other painters.
- All my life I kept diaries, where she sang praises to almost everyone with whom she spoke.
- She was the same age as Marie Antoinette.
- The memoirs of Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun were published in 1835 and later underwent several reprints.
- According to the estimates of the artist herself, she painted over 660 portraits and 15 landscapes and historical plots in her entire life — about 700 works in total.
- She was a member of eight art academies in different countries.
The life of Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun is an example of the fate of many talented people, who first gained great fame and grandeur, and then slowly faded away in solitude. Fortunately for the artist, she, unlike a large number of her colleagues in misfortune, left behind a lot of works that are still exhibited and appreciated by painting lovers around the world. And this is a lot.