Le Brun Biography

VLB was born on April 16th, 1755 in Paris. Her father was a pastel painter not very well recognized but greatly encouraged VLB’s interest and talent in painting. As a child, she was constantly drawing, so much so that she would get in trouble with the teachers for decorating her school work. At home, she had plenty of opportunity and support to experiment and create. She could draw alongside her father in his studio, and friends of her father would give her lessons in drawing, as well as invite her to be taught at the Academy of St. Luke. As she grew up and her art progressed, she gained the attention of some contemporary painters such as Joseph Vernet. Vernet advised the young artist not to follow any specific school of art, but to learn from the great Italian and Flemish masters—Ruben, Rembrandt, Greuze, and Van Dyck—and above all, nature.
Aii. To this extent, it seems as though VLB has followed the artist’s advice. She does not fit into any specific school but seems to be a mixture of forms which create her own comprehensive style. The dominant school of Neo-Classicism during the mid-18th century in
Le Brun gained a great amount of popularity as a portraitist and received many commissions from notable figures such as counts and countesses, sisters of the king, and acclaimed artists. Her reputation and popularity became so great that she came to the attention of Queen Marie Antoinette by way of the king’s brother, Emperor Joseph II. She began this first portrait of the queen commissioned by the Emperor in 1778, Marie-Antoinette “en robe à paniers”. It is a formal portrait with the queen in full court regalia depicted in the Palace of Versailles and further allusions to her royalty by the crown cradled on a lush pillow on the table. The piece is brimming with the opulence, stateliness, and tradition of a French monarch. The Queen was very pleased with Le Brun’s work and had two more copies ordered, one of which was to go in her own rooms to be