Marie-Therese Reboul

Marie-Therese Reboul (1728-1805),  along with Adelaide Labille-Guiard, Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun  and Anne Valleyer-Coster, Marie-Therese Reboul was part of an exclusive group of women who shared the privilege of being called an "Academician" during the mid 1780's.

"Portrait of Marie-Therese Reboul, 1757,by Alexander Roslin

Marie Therese-Reboul was admitted into The French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1757.  She exhibited in its Royal Salon from 1757-1767.  Her artistic training was achieved under Madeleine Basseport, who was a botanical illustrator.  She also studied with Royal Academician Joseph Marie-Vien, whom she eventually married.  She specialized in painting still lives and flowers.  She also etched plates for books on natural history.  Her important paintings include: that of a hen with chicks, a golden pheasant from China, a brooding pigeon and a bird of prey following a butterfly.  Catherine the II of Russia collected her work and several of her paintings are in the collection of the Hermitage 
Museum.  The only images I found of her work  can be seen in the following link:
http://www.artnet.com/artists/marie-thérèse-
reboul-vien/past-auction-results
There is not much more information on Marie-Therese Reboul.  From bits and pieces of information that I did find, she seems to have had a very generous character.  She donated all of her jewelry to France in 1789.

Anne Vallayer-Coster: The Greatest Still-Life Painter Who Ever Lived

Anne Vallayer-Coster is certainly a first class still-life painter.  She was a contemporary of Jean- Baptiste-Simeon Chardin, who recognized her exceptional talent. Her great skills were endorsed by  Marie Antoinette officially in 1780, when she received the title of "Painter to the Queen".  Her celebrity generated strong interest from many notable collectors and critics. 

"The Attributes of Painting and Sculpture" by Anne Vallayer Coster, 1769

Anne Vallayer-Coster was the daughter of a goldsmith, who was a master at the Gobelins Manufactory.  His name appears in the register of gifts from the king to important officials, where he was acknowledged as the person responsible for decorations on gold enamel boxes.
Anne Vallayer-Coster's art training is somewhat of a debate and conclusions are made by her associations with certain people. It is very likely that she studied with Joseph Vernet, well known for his marine paintings.   She owned 27 works by him and he owned works by her. Madeleine Basseport is another artist, that is presumed a teacher of Anne Vallayer-Coster because of stylistic similarities. To learn more about Anne Vallayer-Coster's possible and likely mentor, Madeleine Basseport, visit:  http://broadstrokes.org/2012/05/04/royalists-to-romantics-spotlight-on-madeleine-francoise-basseporte/

Anne Vallayer-Coster was admitted into the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1770 in a single reception, with notable Academicians, Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin, Joseph Marie-Vien (director of the Academy), Joseph Vernet, Alexandre Roslin and Hubert Robert serving as witnesses.  In 1771 she exhibited several works in the Royal Salon.  Her work received high praise, even from the great philosopher and critic, Diderot, who stated that "If all new members made a showing like Mademoiselle Vallayer's, and sustained the same high level of quality there, the Salon would look very different".1   The following two paintings were exhibited in the Salon of 1771:

"The Attributes of Music" by Anne Vallayer Coster, 1770, Louvre Museum, Paris

"The White Soup Tureen" by AnneVallayer-Coster, 1771, Private Collection, Paris

In a letter dated April 9, 1779 (with the Queen's support and endorsement) Anne Vallayer was awarded lodging at the Louvre Palace.  She was the only woman artist to have been granted this privilege.  Adelaide Labille-Guiard was denied this privilege many times, "because of her sex" the real reason being that she was a teacher to many young females and this would cause a great distraction to the male art students in the Galeries du Louvre.

Anne Vallayer Coster did venture into portraiture, but encountered scathing reviews of her work in the 1785 Salon, where she was compared to portraitists, Adelaide Labille-Guiard and Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun.  The result was Anne Vallayer-Coster decided to focus on still-life painting.  Here is an example of one of Anne Vallayer's portraits:

"Joseph-Charles Roettiers" by Anne Vallayer Coster, 1777, Chateau de Versailles

Flower paintings were one of Coster's great strengths.  She was praised for their exquisite richness.  If you look at them closely you can see that there are technical similarities between Vallayer Coster's paintings and those of one of the greatest flower painters of all time, Henri Fantin- Latour.

The following are examples of Anne Vallayer-Coster Flower paintings:

"Vase of Flowers with Bust of Flora" by Anne Vallayer Coster, 1774, photography www.bluffton.edu.com

"Roses in a Glass and Grapes, by Anne Vallayer-Coster, 1804, Private Collection

"Flowers in a Crystal Vase" by Anne Vallayer-Coster, 1789, Private Collection

Here is a painting by Henri Fantin Latour:

"Vase of Peonies" by Henri Fantin-Latour, 1881. Honolulu Academy of Arts

Anne Vallayer-Coster's long list of important collectors included:

• Queen Marie Antoinette
• Louis-Gabriel de Veri-Raionard--Marquis de Veri 
• Joseph Marie Terray -Controller-General of Finances during the reign of King Louis XV in France
• The financier Beaujon - one of the richest men in France during the reign of King Louis the XV, who lent millions to the government during the Seven Years' War
• The prince de Conti

In 1781 she marries a powerful lawyer and member of the parliament, J.P. Silvestre Coster, their wedding ceremony is held at Versailles and their marriage contract is signed by Queen Marie Antoinette herself.  When the French Revolution began in 1789 she did not exhibit in the Salon.  She lost her greatest patron when Queen Marie Antoinette was executed in 1793. Her last painting exhibited at the 1817 Salon was"Table with Lobster Fruit and Game".  Her following 1781 painting has a similar theme, you can see how beautifully she depicted the lobster :

"Still Life with Lobster" by Anne Vallayer-Coster, 1781 Toledo Museum of Art, purchased with funds from the Libby Endowment

For more of Anne Vallayer-Coster's work visit:
http://www.pinterest.com/palettesandpear/anne-vallayer-coster/

An excellent Monograph on Anne Vallayer-Coster:
"Anne Vallayer-Coster Painter to the Court of Marie Antoinette" , Eik Kahng and Marianne Roland Michel


1.  "Anne Vallayer-Coster Painter to the Court of Marie Antoinette" , Eik Kahng and Marianne Roland Michel, pg 17,  note #41 taken from: Seznec and Adhemar , 1957-1967, 4:202

The Finest Rivals

"Self Portrait"(Oil) 1800, by Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, Collection of the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia

"Self-Portrait"( Pastel) 1782 by Adelaide Labille -Guiard, Private collection

Two painters exhibit side by side in Paris's most prestigious painting Salons.  Who was better, who was the most talented?  A question that would come to mind when comparing Adelaide Labille-Guiard and Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun.  In their day, they were part of the "elite" four, along with two other women, Marie-Therese Reboul and Anne Vallayer-Coster. Together they were the only four females admitted into the male dominated French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. 

Labille-Guiard and Vigee Le Brun were admitted into the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture on the same day, May 31, 1783.  It is only natural that the two figurative artists would be called rivals.  Some say their "rivalry" was invented by critics who loved to compare the two women in every aspect, including their looks.  In Laura Auricchio's monograph "Adelaide Labille-Guiard, Artist In The Age Of Revolution" she discusses an instance where women of the Royal Academy's Salon were compared as if they were participating in a beauty pageant "Mesdames Vallayer and Guiard also display their graces at the Salon; but Paris awards the apple to Madame Le Brun".  1

So since, I have seen the mention of rivalry many times when reading about Labille-Guiard or Vigee Le Brun, I thought it would be interesting to explore this topic. 

Self-portraits at different stages of their lives reveal clear differences in the way they each presented themself to the public. The following are two self-portraits painted in their twenties.  You can clearly see that Adelaide Labille-Guiard had a predilection for more elaborate style and dress as compared to Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun's preference for simpler dresses (as you can see in many of Le Brun's self-portraits).

"Self-Portrait (age 26) by Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, Kimbell Art Museum Fort Worth, Texas

"Self-Portrait" (age 25) Watercolor on Ivory, 4 1/16 in x 3 5/16 in, by Adelaide Labille- Guiard, Foundation Miniaturesammlung Tansey, Celle, Germany

Labille-Guiard shows off her brilliant dress, complete with fancy hat, silk and ribbons in her famous "Self-Portrait with Two Pupils" at the age of 36. Vigee Le Brun on the other hand, prefers a  simple dark dress with a red sash in her portrait at the age of 35.

"Self-Portrait with Two Pupils" (age 36) by Adelaide Labille-Guiard

"Self-Portrait" (age 35) by Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy

Comparison of their personalities reveals that they were both tenacious women, both passionate about their art and found the way to create in a tough, chaotic world, a world of Revolution. They were extraordinary women.  

Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun dedicated herself only to painting, she had as much as three sittings per day.  In the evening she would sometimes have elaborate soirees, where she would invite poets, musicians, aristocrats and painters.  She was very social in this respect.  Her husband, Jean Baptiste Pierre Le Brun, was an art dealer and critic, who specialized in old master paintings.  He also painted on occasion.  Here is a self-portrait by him.

"Self-Portrait" by Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Le Brun, Wildenstein Institute, Paris

Because he was an art connoisseur Jean-Baptiste-Pierre had personal ties with Jacques-Louis David, the titan-dictator of French art during the Revolution.  It is not surprising that Jean-Baptiste-Pierre was appointed to serve on a committee whose job was to select "worthy" French works of art to be saved from destruction during the Terror.  Obviously, Jean Baptiste Pierre Le Brun had the power to save many of Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun's paintings and preserved them from elimination.  

Adelaide Labille-Guiard's great love was, Francois- Andre Vincent, who taught her oil painting (and helped her make the transition from miniaturist to large scale oil painting)  He was the son of her miniaturist teacher, Francois-Elie Vincent, who was her instructor during her adolescence.  

"Francois-Andre Vincent" 1795, by Adelaide Labille-Guiard, Louvre Museum, Paris

Francois-Andre Vincent was a leader in the neoclassical movement, until his rival, Jacques-Louis David took over the French art scene.  It is interesting to note that this is a key difference between Guiard and Le Brun; Le Brun had a more favorable relationship with Jacques-Louis David  than Labille-Guiard.  Could this be part of the reason that Vigee Le Brun to this day is more popular in France than Labille-Guiard?  If you visit Paris you will see Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun's paintings on display in many museums, Adelaide Labille-Guiard paintings are not as easy to find.  

I have already mentioned that Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun spent most of her time painting, she did teach (upon the urging of her husband to earn extra income) but she did not love it.  Adelaide Labille-Guiard was passionate about her teaching. She depicted herself in her self-portrait as a teacher and it turned out to be her masterpiece.  She fought for the advancement of women artists in a hard time.  Much of her time was spent campaigning to change the laws limiting the number of women allowed to exhibit their work in the all important Salon of the French Royal Academy.  She succeeded and in 1791 a motion passed where an unspecified number of women were allowed to exhibit in the Royal Salon. Labille-Guiard was a great role model for women, who via her teaching and willingness to push the limits of the French art establishment made a difference.

Politics was another area the two women differed greatly in.  In 1789, when the Revolution started to bare its claws in Paris, Vigee Le Brun fled to Italy,Vienna and Russia.  Labille-Guiard remained behind, absorbed and even embraced the new regime that came into power in Paris.  Labille-Guiard painted fourteen members of the National Assembly, including Maximilien Robespierre, the ultimate revolutionary.  Vigee Le Brun's travel further helped spread her fame around the world, while Labille-Guiard always remained in France, surrounded by a close knit group of people.

Their painting styles reveal distinctions that clearly identify each artist.  As seen below 
in Adelaide Labille-Guiard's painting "Portrait of a Woman"  her characteristic trademark style, is rich in clarity, detail and usually demure color.

Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun favors a softer more romanticized style, in the vein of  Roccoco artist, Francois Boucher. 

"Portrait of a Woman" 1781 by Adelaide Labille Guiard, Musee de Beaux-Arts, Quimper, France

"The Daughter's Portrait" 1792, by Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun,  Galleria nazionale di Parma, Italy

It is a matter of personal taste in deciding who gets the prize in this age old rivalry.  One thing is for sure, they both qualify as winners in my book.

1 Les Pientres Volants, ou Dialogue entre in francois et un anglois sur les Tableaux exposes au Sallon
du Louvre en 1783,  Collection Deloynes vol. 13. no 297, pg. 13  ------footnote of a quote Laura Auricchio used on pg. 35 in her monograph "Adelaide Labille-Guiard "Artist In The Age of Revolution"

Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun: Prodigy, Paint And Princesses

Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun's work can be found in many museums all over the world, reflecting the fact that Le Brun was extremely prolific and well traveled.  Her body of work consists of approximately 800 paintings.  Like Adelaide Labille-Guiard( the subject of several of my previous blog posts) Le Brun became an important and distinguished artist in France During the latter half of the 18th century. She became Marie Antoinette's official portraitist by the time she was 25 years old- ultimately painting more than 20 portraits of the Queen.

"Marie Antoinette", 1783,  by Elisabeth Vigee Le Burn

"Marie Antoinette", 1786, by Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun

Le Brun was born in Paris in 1755.  Her father, Louis Vigee, was a pastel portraitist, who taught at the Academie de Saint-Luc in Paris.  Elisabeth learned much about art from him at an early age. Unfortunately, he died in 1767 due to a wound he acquired, while accidentally swallowing a fishbone. It was in this year, at the age of 12, that Elisabeth took over her father's studio.  The young girl was noticed by the painter Greuze (famous for his rustic group scenes) and remained a good friend throughout Vigee Le Brun's life. Young Elisabeth received encouragement and guidance from Greuze and other notable painters of the era. Her early talent and reputation attracted enough portrait commissions to support her family by the time she was 15.  
In 1776 Vigee Le Brun married the art dealer Jean Baptiste Pierre Le Brun, a great nephew of Charles Le Brun, who was appointed the Director of the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1663 and had been declared by Louis the XIV the "greatest French painter of all time".  Jean Baptiste Pierre Le Brun misled Elisabeth into believing that he was wealthy, when in reality he did not even own the house he lived in.  However, he was well connected in the French Art world and specialized in Old Master paintings.  She soon realized that Jean Baptiste was a handful, he was a womanizer, gambler and a "big spender".  To help "finance" his lavish tastes, he encouraged Elisabeth to take on pupils for additional income.  Teaching, however was not her passion.  One of Elisabeth Vigee's notable pupils was Marie Guilhelmine Benoist (also known as Marie Guilhelmine de Laville Laroux).  She received several commissions from Napoleon Bonaparte and was awarded a gold medal and stipend from the Napoleonic regime.

 One of Vigee Le Brun's pupils, Marie Guilhemine Benoist  (1768-1826):

"Self Portrait", 1790, by Marie Guilhelmine Benoist , Sandiego Museum of Art

"Portrait of A Lady", 1799, by Marie Guilhelmine Benoist

"Portrait of Elisa Bonaparte", 1805, by Marie Guilhelmine Benoist

In 1780 Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun's marriage produced one child- Jeanne-Julie Louise, referred to as "Julie".  Julie was the subject in many of Elisabeth's paintings.  Maternity or "Madonna and Child" was a topic Vigee Lebrun used repeatedly in her paintings.

"Self Portrait with Daughter Julie", 1786, by Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, Collection of the Louvre

"The Bather (Julie Le Brun)", 1792, by Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun

In 1789 the French Revolution and its hostility towards the monarchy, forced Vigee Lebrun-painter of the royalty-- to flee to Italy and relocate there.  Her husband stayed behind to protect his art collection.  His personal ties with Jacques-Louis David saved him from persecution (David was a powerful figure in the French art scene).  Elisabeth's stay in Italy lasted from 1789 to 1792.  Among the cities she visited were Rome, Florence, Naples and Milan.  She enjoyed and enriched her artistic senses by visiting the great masterpieces of Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci and many others found in Italian museums. 
Highlights of her stay in Italy:
.  Invitation to submit a self-portrait for the collection of the Grand Ducal Gallery in the Uffizi in Florence

"Self-Portrait", 1790 by Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, Gallery of the Uffizi, Florence

.  In 1790 was elected a member of the Roman Accademia di San Luca
.  Her many notable portrait commissions include:  Countess Skavronsky and Lady Hamilton ( Lady Hamilton was the subject of a movie starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier), Queen Maria Carolina of Naples and Composer Giovanni Paisiello.
. She met with famous Swiss born painter, Angelica Kauffman, who had much in common with her.

After her stay in Italy, Vigee Le Brun traveled and lived in Vienna for two and a half years.  She received a warm welcome there, Maria Theresa of Austria (1717-1780) was Marie Antoinette's mother and patron of the arts.  While in Austria, she received many portrait commissions from the aristocracy.  Her paintings develop a romantic use of landscape backgrounds.
In 1795 Vigee Le Brun decided it was time to travel to Russia. She arrived in St. Petersburg in the summer and thought that it was a beautiful city. Once again, because of her fame as Marie Antoinette's official portraitist, she was summoned by Empress "Catherine the Great". 

Highlights of her stay in Russia:

 . She developed a friendship with the Empress Catherine the Great and was commissioned to paint her two granddaughters, Alexandra and Elena Pavlovna.

"Portrait of Duchess Alexandra and Elena Pavlovna"1795-97 Elisabeth Vigee Lebrun

Elisabeth was about to start painting "Catherine the Great's" portrait, but she died suddenly.

. Among other interesting portrait commissions while in Russia, was that of Princess Catherine Feodorovna Dolgorouky, the host of a very fashionable salon.  She paid Vigee Le-Brun for the portrait, with a carriage and a diamond  bracelet inscribed with the phrase "Adorn her who adorns her century".
. Vigee Le Brun was made an honorary free associate of the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg.
 She finally returns to Paris in 1802, where she was greeted by friends and family who survived the Guillotine. By this time the  Napoleonic regime was in power. Vigee Lebrun's France was gone and melancholy set in, so Elisabeth decided once more to make a journey and she left to England.  
Highlights while in England:
. She paints a portrait of the Prince of Wales ( the future King known as "George IV")
. Meets the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds, who greatly admired her work.

Vigee Le-Brun finally returns to France in 1805 and paints a portrait of Napoleon's Sister, Caroline Murat.

"Portrait of Napoleon's sister, Caroline Murat", 1807, by Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun

Vigee Le Brun settled in France, but still traveled to Switzerland and at the age of 65 traveled to Bordeaux and the Loire Valley.  After the death of her daughter and brother, she became close to her two nieces and found great joy in them.  She also wrote her famous autobiography "Souvenirs".
Here is a link to more of her work:
Paintings by Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun

**Recommended book and resource: "Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun- The Odyssey of an Artist in an Age of Revolution" by Gita May

FINDING ADELAIDE

In the fall of 2010, I read a wonderful article published in Women in The Arts (publication of the National Museum of Women in the Arts)  written by their chief curator, Jordana Pomeroy.  The article was entitled "A Series of Fortunate Decisions, Adelaide Labille-Guiard's Portrait of an Unknown Sitter".  It was about a discovery that Lieutenant Dennis and Kathleen Melander made while living in a rented house.  In 1958 while cleaning their living quarters, they found a burlap bag, in the flue, containing a small painting of an intriguing woman. The painting was signed with the letter "G".  Fate stepped in and their landlord told them to keep the "anonymous" work of art.  Years later, the couple's children decided to present the painting to the Smithsonian, where Dr. Philip Conisbee, curator of European paintings at the National Gallery of Art, attributed it to Adelaide Labille-Guiard.  It was suggested that the painting would thrive at the NMWA's galleries.  So this painting, found a home, for some period of time at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington DC, a great reason to visit the museum.

It is always interesting to discover and "meet" the artists we admire via the work in various museums across the world.  Since the focus of this blog post is Adelaide Labille-Guiard, here is a link to a collection of her work found in museums:

http://www.pinterest.com/palettesandpear/a-catalogue-of-adelaide-labille-guiards-work-and-w/

"Madame Adelaide" by Adelaide Labille-Guiard, 1787, Oil on Canvas, Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon, France

The above painting by Labille-Guiard shows Madame Adelaide (daughter of Louis the XV)

next to an easel that displays carved images of her father- the late King, the  late Queen and the late Dauphin (her brother).  The frieze at the top shows a scene of her and sister Madame Victoire entering the room as her father, King Louis XV lies dying in bed of smallpox.  This painting was a tremendous success and Labille-Guiard was commissioned by Madame Adelaide to paint three large scale autographed reproductions, to be given as gifts.  One of these autographed copies hangs in The Phoenix Art Museum in Arizona. http://egallery.phxart.org/view/objects/asitem/4519/63/medium-asc;jsessionid=C126CD2DABCB014E4BD203F41883AF64?t:state:flow=2eec76ab-688b-4e36-9fd2-6004ac2c3eec

Many Thanks to the National Museum of Women in the Arts and Jordana Pomeroy http://www.nmwa.org

A wonderful resource,**"ADELAIDE LABILLE-GUIARD" - ARTIST IN THE AGE OF REVOLUTION" by Laura Auricchio**

"THE MENTOR"

Adelaide Labille-Guiard (1749-1803) was not only a gifted painter, but she was an important role model and teacher for women in the arts. The eighteenth century did not offer a friendly or conducive atmosphere for females to make a career out of being painters.   Labille-Guiard not having come from an artistic family, took lessons in her adolescence with miniature painter Francoise-Elie Vincent, later apprenticed with pastel master, Maurice Quentin de la Tour, then studied under neoclassical painter Francois-Andre Vincent (son of her first teacher and whom she married in 1800).  In 1774 she exhibited for the first time, a miniature painting and pastel with great success at The Academie of Saint-Luc's Salon (a rival guild and alternative to the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture).  Here she became  a renowned teacher, which gave her the ability to open her own studio, to teach female pupils.  In 1783, Labille-Guiard moved to a spacious apartment with several pupils on Rue de Richelieu in Paris.  By this time she had taken on mentoring at least  nine students:

•  Mademoiselle Victoire d’Avril
•  Mademoiselle Marie-Gabrielle Capet
• Mademoiselle  Madeleine Frumpy
• Mademoiselle  Rosemond (Mlle Carreaux de Rosemond)
• Mademoiselle  Alexandre
• Mademoiselle Marie-Thérèse de Noiterre
• Mademoiselle  Verrier (Mme Maillard)
• Mademoiselle Jeanne Bernard
• Mademoiselle  P. Hubert

*********************************************************************************
Of the above nine pupils, Marie-Gabrielle Capet was the most well known.
Marie-Gabrielle Capet (1761-1817) was one of the pupils depicted in Labille-Guiard's famous "Self-Portrait with Two Pupils".  She remained close to Labille-Guiard and her second husband Francois Andre-Vincent for all her years.  The three worked in the same atelier until the end of Labille-Guiard's life.  She became one of the most distinguished miniature painters of her day.  It is suggested in the biography of Adelaide Labille-Guiard ("Une Emule d'Adelaide Labille Guiard" by A. Doria) that Capet switched to miniatures so as not compete with her mentor Labille-Guiard.  

Marie-Gabrielle Capet ,Self-Portrait, 1783, now at theNational Museum of Western Art in Tokyo

Marie-Gabrielle Capet, "The Atelier of Madame Vincent ", painting from 1808, now in the Neue Pinakothek, Munich.
Madame Vincent is Adelaide-Labille Guiard--her name was adjusted after marriage to Francois-Andre Vincent.
Capet painted this after Labille-Guiard's demise, this painting shows Labille-Guiard painting Joseph-Marie Vien,
once a powerful director of the French Royal Academy in Rome, then later, Napoleon Bonaparte appointed him a
Senator.

Here is a link to a collection of miniatures by Capet :
http://www.pinterest.com/palettesandpear/the-miniatures-of-marie-gabrielle-capet/
As I researched Capet's miniatures, I was really struck by how lovely they were.  These tiny jewels deserve a museum exhibit!

*********************************************************************************

Labille-Guiard became the first woman artist to be granted an apartment at the Palace of the Louvre.  She requested an apartment from the arts ministry in 1785 but was refused. In 1792, her persistence for "the love of her art" finally paid off and she was granted the Louvre studio for herself and her pupils.

In 1791 Labille-Guiard petitioned the Academy to eliminate the"cap"of four being the maximum number of women allowed in the membership at one time. Since women members could not teach or hold office in the Academy, Labille-Guiard proposed that an unspecified number of women be admitted into the Royal Academy as "conseilleurs", an honorary title to which the privilege of exhibiting in the Salons was attached.  The motion passed and women, although did not achieve the rank of Academicians, were given the more practical alternative, a chance to exhibit in the Royal Salon.  

Labille-Guiard demonstrated her high aspirations as a woman in a time when it was against the odds to reach great heights for the female artist.  She went from a miniaturist, to working in a grand scale in oils.  "She was a feminist in both theory and in practice, opposing artificial barriers to the fulfillment of women's full potential and working to have those barriers removed.  Every later woman artist owes Adelaide Labille-Guiard a debt of gratitude." (excerpt taken from page186 "Women Artists 1550-1950", by Ann Sutherland and Linda Nochlin)

****FACT: Women were not permitted to study at the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture's classrooms or participate in their competitions. Although women could not receive an education at The Royal Academy, they did permit a VERY limited number of females as members. Immediate membership was granted to women, bypassing the "normal" requirements and training given by the Royal Academy to male prospective members. When Adelaide Labille-Guiard was admitted to the Royal Academy in 1783, the maximum number of women allowed was four.  A rival guild-- though not as prestigious as the Royal Academy-- The Academie de Saint-Luc, was much more accepting of women, its number of women members totaled 130 by 1777.****

**Many thanks to the National Museum of Women in the Arts, for assisting me with factual research on Adelaide Labille-Guiard.  Here is a link to their website  http://www.nmwa.org**

"ADELAIDE THE GREAT"

The first time I saw Adelaide Labille-Guiard's painting "Self-Portrait with Two Pupils" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City,  I could not take my eyes off of it.   It was clearly a masterpiece that both challenged and invited me to investigate its contents.   I have since then learned much about Adelaide and her remarkable career in the arts during the tumultuous time of the French Revolution.  

"Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, -Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818)

 and Marie Marguerite Carreaux de Rosemond (died 1788)", 

by Adelaide Labille-Guiard, Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Self-Portrait with Two Pupils" was exhibited in 1785 in the bi-annual Salon show of the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, the premier art establishment of the era, (participating artists were given the prestigious opportunity to exhibit in its members show held at Palace of the Louvre every two years). At the time, the Academy limited the number of women members to four.  The accepted four were -- Adelaide Labille-Guiard, Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, Anne Vallayer-Coster and Marie-Therese Reboul.

"View of the Salon of 1785" by Pietro Antonio Martini, Metropolitan Museum of Art

 Above you can see, circled in red, where Adelaide's painting was hung.  Also shown in the same exhibition was Jacques-Louis David's "Oath of the Horatii"(center, second from top). The critics loved her "Self-Portrait with Two Pupils".  As a matter of fact, Adelaide's painting was so well received, that she was inspired to ask for lodging at the Louvre, a privilege that only male artists enjoyed.  She wanted to have her atelier at the great palace, where she could paint and teach. Her request was denied. It was argued, that since she was a teacher of young women, it was not a good idea to allow them in the same halls of the palace, where young male students studied with their mentors, this could possibly lead to indecent behavior at the Louvre.  In the end, she did not leave empty handed, Adelaide Labille-Guiard had the support and admiration of Madame Adelaide and her sister Victoire, Aunts of King Louis XVI , and she was awarded an annual pension of 1000 livres.  

The provenance of "Self Portrait with Two Pupils"  is fascinating.  This painting remained in Adelaide's family for about 100 years.  It was offered to the Louvre in about 1878 and they refused it.  In 1905 it was sold to a collector and in 1953, it was gifted to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City by Julia A. Berwind.   What a wonderful stroke of luck for the Met, to own such a masterful work of art!

Although Adelaide had strong ties to the women of the royal family and she was appointed "Pientre des Mesdames"--"Painter of the Princesses of France" she became a supporter of the French Revolution.  She painted 14 members of the National Assembly, including Maximilien Robespierre, one of the leaders of the French Revolution.    The times were changing and she became a leader and advocate for the future of women and their rights to exhibit in the Academy.  You might say, she was definitely a woman of strong character.  She was a dedicated teacher to female artists , inspiring them to pursue a career in the arts, no matter what the obstacles.



INTERESTING BIOGRAPHICAL FACTS:


BORN  1749

DIED  1803

BIRTH PLACE  Paris, France

FAMILY  Youngest of eight children.  All her siblings died by the time she was a teenager.  Her father was a clothing merchant and had a boutique called "La Toilette".  Perhaps this explains Adelaide's keen eye for painting fabrics and textures.

Detail of "Portrait of a Woman", Musee des beaux-arts, Quimper, France

Detail of "Portrait of the Comtesse deSelve", Switzerland, Private Collection

Detail of "Portrait of a Woman Wearing a White Dress Lined
with Red Velvet",

EARLY STUDIES Studied miniature painting with Francois-Elie Vincent (her future second husband's father).  She also studied with French Pastel master Quentin de la Tour.

MARRIAGE(S)  Married to Nicolas Guiard in 1769, whom she divorced in 1779.  Married Francois-Andre Vincent in 1799.

OTHER INTERESTING FACTS:  Thomas Jefferson visited Guiard and paid her 240 livres
for a picture.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE: A wonderful monograph on Adelaide:  "Adelaide Labille-Guiard : "Artist In The Age Of Revolution" written by Laura Auricchio.

I will end this post with a poem written by a critic
who saw Adelaide's "Self-Portrait with Two Pupils" on display circa 1785:

I have blown kisses to the two mischievous faces on

Which the eye deliciously rests, and to the mouth

From which one could have such pleasure in hearing spoken the pretty

Word that you breathe, and that you have spoken

Sometimes with emotion, isn't it true, beautiful

Guyard?...But...I feel myself moved, ah Guyard!

Guyard! I must flee your eyes, I must...