Portrait of Caroline Murat with her daughter, Letizia (1807)

Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun: Portrait of Caroline Murat with her daughter, Letizia

Here's another of Vigée Le Brun's portraits of the French upper crust. This one is of Caroline Murat, one of Napoleon's sisters. She married one of Napoleon's generals, Joachim Murat (Empress Josephine persuaded Napoleon to allow the marriage). Murat became the King of Naples, and Caroline the "Queen Consort".

It turns out that she is the great-great-great-grandmother of this guy:

Constable Odo of Deep Space Nine (aka the actor René Auberjonois)

Madame Grassini in the Role of Zaire (1805)

Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun: Madame Grassini in the Role of Zaire

Another painting from Neoclassic standout Mme. Vigée Le Brun. Madame Grassini was an Italian contralto who had the distinction of having both Napoleon and Wellington as lovers! She was also very gracious and generous, as the following anecdote recounted by Mme. Vigée Le Brun illustrates:

"At the moment I was to get into the post-chaise that was to convey me to the inn near my place of embarkation [to return to France after a three-year stay in England], the charming Mme. Grassini appeared on the scene. I thought she had simply come to bid me farewell, but she declared she wished to take me to the inn, and made me get into her carriage, which I found full of pillows and packages. ‘What is all this for?’ I inquired. ‘You are not aware, then,’ she replied, ‘that you are going to the worst inn of the world? You may have to wait there a week or more if the wind is not favourable, and I have made up my mind to stay with you.’ I can hardly say how moved I was at this token of affection. The beautiful woman was leaving the pleasures of London and her friends, to say nothing of the host of admirers always in her train, merely to keep me company. To me this seemed lovable, and I have never forgotten it."

I wonder which came first: this incident, which then sparked Vigée Le Brun to paint this wonderful (and flattering) portrait, or the portrait, which encouraged Mme. Grassini to be so generous?

Vigée Le Brun Self-portrait (1800)

Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842) was a prominent portrait painter in the 18th century, and was probably the most famous female artist of that century.  She did so many portraits of Marie Antoinette that she was considered the official portrait painter of that unfortunate queen. She also painted numerous self-portraits; this one was done in 1800.

It's obvious from this painting that Vigée Le Brun's use of light was exquisite. I like the way that in her portraits of women the hair is often not neatly combed and arranged but rather natural and somewhat wild, as in the self-portrait above. Here are a couple of her 18th century works that I like:

 Marie Antoinette and her children (1787)

 Portrait of Irina Vorontsova (ca. 1797)

Self-portrait in a straw hat (1782)