Page 1 / 4
Little Élisabeth Luise was born in Paris as the daughter of the painter Luis Vigee. Already as a little baby she was brought to a peasant family and stayed there for five years. Afterwards she was sent to a boarding school. The nuns soon noticed how beautifully the girl could draw and paint. Her father, who was shown her paintings, was also enthusiastic and predicted a future as a painter for her. Elisabeth Louise returned home from the convent at the age of 12 and her father taught her. When he died a little later, her mother had her take painting lessons with well-known artists. She also copied Old Master paintings and painted portraits of friends. A few years later her work was so good that she was able to accept commissions and earn her own money. Even portraits of Queen Marie-Antoinette and other members of the royal family were ordered from her. She was also considered a very beautiful girl and had a lot of admirers, but she turned them all away before she married the painter and art dealer Jean Baptiste Lebrun at the age of twenty-one. She travelled with him through the Netherlands and Flanders for study purposes and painted portraits of various noblemen, including the Prince of Nassau. Upon her return to Paris, Elisabeth Luise Vigee Lebrun became a member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture and exhibited her work in its salons. At this time her only child, the daughter Jeanne Julie Louise, was born.
But the very successful artist also had many envious people and was attacked from all sides. The press accused her of having an illegitimate relationship with the then Finance Minister Calonne, and forged letters appeared. Her reputation was ruined. During the French Revolution Elisabeth Louise Vigee Lebrun feared for her safety in Paris as a royalist and fled to Italy with her daughter and a governess. There she learned that all her property in France had been confiscated and her civil rights had been revoked. Her husband, who was unable to help her despite all his efforts, finally divorced her to save his own property. In the following years Vigee Lebrun lived in Vienna and in Saint Petersburg. Especially in Russia she again had many commissions to portray noble families. She also painted members of the tsar's family.
Only after twelve years could Elisabeth Luise Vigee Lebrun return to France and continue her work in Paris. She continued to work very successfully until she died at the age of eighty-six. Today, more than 650 portraits and around 200 landscape paintings of her can be found in museums around the world.
Little Élisabeth Luise was born in Paris as the daughter of the painter Luis Vigee. Already as a little baby she was brought to a peasant family and stayed there for five years. Afterwards she was sent to a boarding school. The nuns soon noticed how beautifully the girl could draw and paint. Her father, who was shown her paintings, was also enthusiastic and predicted a future as a painter for her. Elisabeth Louise returned home from the convent at the age of 12 and her father taught her. When he died a little later, her mother had her take painting lessons with well-known artists. She also copied Old Master paintings and painted portraits of friends. A few years later her work was so good that she was able to accept commissions and earn her own money. Even portraits of Queen Marie-Antoinette and other members of the royal family were ordered from her. She was also considered a very beautiful girl and had a lot of admirers, but she turned them all away before she married the painter and art dealer Jean Baptiste Lebrun at the age of twenty-one. She travelled with him through the Netherlands and Flanders for study purposes and painted portraits of various noblemen, including the Prince of Nassau. Upon her return to Paris, Elisabeth Luise Vigee Lebrun became a member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture and exhibited her work in its salons. At this time her only child, the daughter Jeanne Julie Louise, was born.
But the very successful artist also had many envious people and was attacked from all sides. The press accused her of having an illegitimate relationship with the then Finance Minister Calonne, and forged letters appeared. Her reputation was ruined. During the French Revolution Elisabeth Louise Vigee Lebrun feared for her safety in Paris as a royalist and fled to Italy with her daughter and a governess. There she learned that all her property in France had been confiscated and her civil rights had been revoked. Her husband, who was unable to help her despite all his efforts, finally divorced her to save his own property. In the following years Vigee Lebrun lived in Vienna and in Saint Petersburg. Especially in Russia she again had many commissions to portray noble families. She also painted members of the tsar's family.
Only after twelve years could Elisabeth Luise Vigee Lebrun return to France and continue her work in Paris. She continued to work very successfully until she died at the age of eighty-six. Today, more than 650 portraits and around 200 landscape paintings of her can be found in museums around the world.