Le Brun's Humanization of Marie Antoinette - Research Paper Example

Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun's Humanization of Marie Antoinette Outline I. Introduction Thesis: It was art why the painter Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun and the French monarch Marie Antoinette established a close relationship and saw each other not according to their social roles, but women who have equal needs and challenges, in that male-dominant society they have to endure; especially for Elisabeth’s part, she humanized Marie Antoinette through the portraits she made for her and the genuine friendship she had established with her. II. Le Brun and Marie Antoinette: Meeting of Two Worlds i. Le Brun is an artist coming from a humble family ii. Marie Antoinette is a Queen of French monarch III. Le Brun’s Friendship to Marie Antoinette i. They were able to build a close friendship when Le Brun painted Marie Antoinette’s portrait a couple of times a. Le Brun is the Queen’s confidant ii. Le Brun attempted to save Marie Antoinette from guillotine through propaganda letters and portraits IV. Marie Antoinette’s Portraits by Le Brun: “An Average Woman” i. Marie Antoinette en chemise ii. Marie Antoinette and Her Children V. Conclusion Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun's Humanization of Marie Antoinette Introduction Eighteenth Century Europe is no place for a woman. Ranging from ruling the household to ruling the state, men had become beings of ultimate idealism that it overshadowed the importance of women. In a time and space where men are kings, it is notable to recognize two women who made their mark in history and found intimacy in friendship despite the disparity of their social status. It was art why the painter Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun and the French monarch Marie Antoinette established a close relationship and saw each other not according to their social roles, but women who have equal needs and challenges, in that male-dominant society they have to endure; especially for Elisabeth’s part, she humanized Marie Antoinette through the portraits she made for her and the genuine friendship she had established with her. Le Brun and Marie Antoinette: Meeting of Two Worlds Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun came from a humble family of artists, and having inherited her father’s talent, she embarked a road less traveled by women in her time: painting. Being unique and creative in her style, she was initially rejected by the artists’ community. It was not until 1776 when she finally had her opportunity of becoming a full-fledged artist, when she was summoned to make a portrait of the then Queen of France, Marie Antoinette (Bietoletti 76). Although Le Brun noted that she was intimidated by the queen, she was able to diminish this feeling through Marie Antoinette’s grace and kindness towards her, perhaps because “they were [of] the same age” (Rafter). On the other hand is a French monarch who was known of her stylish, beautiful and admirable countenance, Queen Marie Antoinette. Tracing back to her roots, she was basically a foreigner and her marriage with Louis XVI was part of a peace-making strategy of her native land Austria and its eternal rival, France. However, the purpose was not fulfilled to its fullest, and instead of reconciling the two nations, the Queen always had an awkward situation with the rest of the French royal family and developed “tensions and suspicions” among them (Goodman 4). In Marie Antoinette’s tumultuary political life and social stature, she became at least an ordinary woman, with the help of her official portraitist Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun. Imprisoned by the standards of a typical French monarch, Le Brun released her from the bars by seeing through her more than that of the King’s wife, but first of all, a mother and a woman, just like her. Le Brun’s Friendship to Marie Antoinette As stated previously, Le Brun and Marie Antoinette crossed each other’s path when the painter was ordered to paint the French queen. On that day, they were able to establish a relaxed emotional connection which soon became a close friendship. The queen was very much pleased with Le Brun’s portrait of her, and the first sitting session became the mark to the succeeding ones. On an account, there was a time when the painter became seriously ill and was not able to attend her appointment in Versailles with the Queen. The day after, she went to apologize and the Queen did not hesitate nor had slight regretful feeling towards Elisabeth (“Marie Antoinette’s”). The queen accepted the painter’s reappointment of her sitting without hesitation. Le Brun noted that “in [her] eagerness to respond to this kindness, [she] seized [her] paint box with such a rush that it spilled” and the Queen herself picked it up for her” (“Marie Antoinette’s”). The very act of a noble to pick up a commoner’s things is strong evidence of Marie Antoinette’s undisturbed confidence towards her friendship with her portraitist. In Clara Clement’s Women in Fine Arts, she claimed that Le Brun is the queen’s confidant in many ways, and knows “the secrets of her life” (206). It was an advantage for Le Brun to have personal connections with the Queen because through it, her art is vivid to the entire country. It is also through Marie Antoinette that she became part of the Academie (206). Although this is the case, a dilemma still persists that the queen’s kindness towards the painter is largely due to personal interest. According to Gita May, “Marie Antoinette consistently treated Vigee Le Brun with outmost kindness and consideration” (3) because she knows that she is making her image more appealing to the public despite of her morally corrupt reputation. This is not expected for any royalty in her time since they were held as above anybody else. Before the queen’s life was ended through guillotine, she made attempts to save the life of Marie Antoinette through propaganda letters and portraits of the Queen as a mother, a plain woman, and a serious political leader; like the portrait Queen Marie Antoinette, where the queen is portrayed with a book on her hand (see figure 3 in appendix C). Marie Antoinette’s Portraits by Le Brun: “An Average Woman” Le Brun is considered as Marie Antoinette’s official portraitist in reference to the number of paintings depicting the queen and her family. Although much of the portraits of Marie Antoinette dispose a typical royalty, the painter and the subject ventured into a non-contemporary image of a subject from nobility. As Marie Antoinette “was eager to give up the enormous hooped skirts and the elaborately structured couture,” (“Marie Antoinette’s”) and Elisabeth would eagerly paint her subject much like an ordinary woman, the Queen was humanized in Elisabeth’s paintings. This, however, was frowned upon by the French public, noting that the queen is distorting their culture. First, it was the painting Marie Antoinette en chemise (see figure 1 in appendix A) that stirred public perception of morality. Seeing a Queen wearing en chemise was pleasant according to palace norms at that time. However, the portrait goes beyond with an unbecoming queen, but more of a statement of resistance of her courtly life. According to Goodman, Marie Antoinette’s purpose of posing in this kind of garment is to reveal her desire of “not to become the queen of France” or to retreat herself from the pressures of her office (57). On the other hand, Birmingham and Brewer have a different opinion towards the Queen in her en chemise attire. They contend that the painting is to show the intimacy of the painter’s friendship of “her royal subject” (473). In Marie Antoinette and Her Children, the queen is depicted not as a woman of high rank and stature but a devoted mother to her three children (see figure 2 in appendix B). In this image, the queen sits with her three surviving children; the empty cradle at her right side represents her deceased children. According to Miller, the “very elegant setting” in this image contrasts Marie Antoinette’s disposition appears to be “ignorant, oblivious of the social, economic, and political disruption that was occurring in France at the time” (1). Perhaps, the painting is made in an attempt to redeem the Queen’s unpopularity to France, but it was a failure when days after the portrait is done, rebellion started to disrupt peace in the country. Conclusion The above mentioned are just two portraits of Marie Antoinette which divided the queen into a royalty and a commoner. Through Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun’s paintings, Marie Antoinette’s humanly attributes were seen with her majestic bloodline being overshadowed. In the context of Le Brun’s portraits of the Queen, it has the capacity to reveal what the young queen really was, contrary to what history wrote about her. Although this was not widely accepted in the 18th Century France, this fact has contributed to the modern study of history. Works Cited Bermingham, Ann, and John Brewer. The Consumption of Culture, 1600-1800: Image, Object, Text. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print. Bietoletti, Silvestra. Neoclassicism and Romanticism. New York: Sterling Publishing Inc., 2005. Print. Clement, Clara Erskine. Women in the Fine Arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D. Middlesex: Echo Library, 2007. Print. Goodman, Dena. Marie-Antoinette: Writings on the Body of the Queen. New York: Routledge, 2003. Print. Le Brun, Elisabeth Vigee. Marie Antoinette en chemise. 1783. The Bat Guano Museum of Art. The Art of Elisabeth Louise Vigee Lebrun. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. . ---. Marie Antoinette and Her Children. 1787. The Bat Guano Museum of Art. The Art of Elisabeth Louise Vigee Lebrun. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. . ---. Queen Marie Antoinette. 1785. The Bat Guano Museum of Art. The Art of Elisabeth Louise Vigee Lebrun. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. . “Marie Antoinette’s Portraitist: Vigee Le Brun.” Art History. Art History, 30 Jan. 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. . May, Gita. Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun: The Odyssey of an Artist in an Age of Revolution. USA: Ann Burr Lewis Fund, 2005. Print. Miller, Riley. “Marie Antoinette and Her Children.” Associated Content. Yahoo! Inc., 15 Jan. 2009. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. . Rafter, Elizabeth. “Marie-Louise Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun.” King’s College. Brian Pavlac, 19 Dec. 2005. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. . Appendix A Figure 1: Marie Antoinette en chemise (Le Brun 1783). Appendix B Figure 2: Marie Antoinette and Her Children (Le Brun 1787). Appendix C Figure 3: Queen Marie Antoinette (Le Brun 1785). Read More