| Self-Portrait with Julie | |
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| Artist | Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun |
| Year | 1789 |
Self-Portrait with Julie (Self-Portrait à la Grecque) is a 1789 painting by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun showing the artist with her daughter. The painting reimagines the artist's 1787 Self-Portrait with Julie (Maternal Tenderness), clothing the figures in Neoclassical attire. It is now in the collection of the Louvre.
Description
Unlike her previous self-portraits where she dons fashionable yet modest attire, here Vigée Le Brun is depicted in a loosely draped, classical style garment. The white cloth, evocative of ancient Greek or Roman dress, is wrapped over one shoulder and secured with a red scarf tied under her bust, while green silk is draped across her legs and her unpowdered hair is adorned with a red ribbon. The decision to dress this way carries layered meaning. Vigée Le Brun’s attire echoes the classical aesthetic that was increasingly popular during the late 18th century, aligning her image with timeless ideals of beauty and virtue. This was not merely a demonstration of her exceptional skill in rendering fabric but a deliberate move to elevate her artistic identity. By connecting herself to classical antiquity, Vigée Le Brun claims a space in the male-dominated tradition of "high art," which was often associated with history painting and classical themes.
References
- Sheriff, Mary D. (1996). The exceptional woman : Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun and the cultural politics of art. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-75275-4.
- "Smarthistory – Vigée Le Brun, Self-Portrait with her Daughter". smarthistory.org. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
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