為瑪麗皇後畫像的女畫家Elisabeth Vigee-Le Brun

當我們談起著名畫家時, 腦海中會浮現出哪些名字呢, Picasso, Van Gough, 還有很多, 幾乎都是男性的名字,似乎女性畫家很少，而法國著名的女畫家Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun (1755-1842) , 則是曆史上少有的女性畫家中最為成功的一位，她的父親和丈夫都是畫家, 而她本人的成就明顯超越了家庭帶給她的榮耀. 同時, 還有人說, 她是當時巴黎上流社會最有魅力的女性之一。
這是畫家26歲時候的自畫像, 氣質高雅, 清新脫俗.



Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
(1755-1842)
Born in Paris, this court painter acquired fame in her homeland as well as throughout Europe. Vigee-LeBrun was mostly a self taught artist, but she received some artistic training from her father prior to his death and she was given advice by Greuze and Venet. Vigee-LeBrun traveled extensively and became a major player in 18th century high society despite her middle class upbringing. A professional portrait painter by the age of 15 years old, Vigee-LeBrun made considerable amounts of money and achieved economic independence for her family. A prolific artist, her work came to the attention of Marie Antoinette and in 1778 Vigee-LeBrun became court painter for the Queen. She became a member of the Royal Academy in 1783 but was forced to flee France in 1789 because of the Revolution and her close ties with the Queen. During her twelve years in exile, Vigee-Lebrun traveled to Italy, Vienna, Prague and Dresden. She was permitted re-entry into France in 1802, after 255 of her artist colleagues petitioned for her return. She traveled to St. Petersburg and London before returning to Paris in 1805 where she remained for the rest of her life. She continued to paint and was made an honorary member of the Societe pour l'Advancement des Beaux-arts in Geneva. In the 1830's she published her memoirs which give insight to her travels and her artistic career.

Bio by Lisa MacDonald 

1779年,Vigee-LeBrun24歲時開始為瑪麗王後Marie Antoinette畫肖像，成為王後的畫家和朋友。Vigee-LeBrun也因此踏入了巴黎的上層社會，皇室和貴族紛紛請她畫像。以至法國大革命後她 流亡國外，歐洲各國的皇室和貴族們都以能得到她所畫的肖像而感到榮幸。

Portrait of the queen Marie Antoinette


雖然Vigee-LeBrun經曆了法國大革命的動蕩歲月， 但本人卻並沒有因此而受到什麽影響， 正是因為她高超的畫技,當時的王宮貴族都以得到她的畫像而榮。

在1783和1789之間，是Vigee-LeBrun最有創造性和多產年代，這期間她展出的肖像和曆史作品的數量，超過當時巴黎高等藝術學院兩年一次的藝術沙龍的數量。即使在流亡期間也沒有停止繪畫，1801年返回巴黎後，Vigee-LeBrun仍致力於肖像畫。一生共創作了八百多幅作品，其中大多是肖像畫。是一位非常勤奮而多產的畫家。

在她的筆下很多母親孩子在一起的場景， 畫的正是畫家本人的生活.