Elisabeth VIGÉE LE BRUN (Paris 1755 - 1842) Portrait... Lot 14

Elisabeth VIGÉE LE BRUN (Paris 1755 - 1842) Portrait of Sophie d'Artois seated Oval canvas. 65 x 53.5 cm Signed and dated on the right Mme Lebrun / 77. Provenance : Collection of the Marquis de Chaponay ; Irma Strauss sale, New-York, Sotheby's, October 22, 1970, no. 16, reproduced "comme mademoiselle de la Biche" ; Pfister Collection ; Wildenstein; Acquired from Maurice Ségoura in 2000; Collection of Monsieur D. Exhibition: L'enfant chéri au siècle des Lumières, Marly, Musée-Promenade, and Cholet, Musée des Beaux-Arts, 2003, n°55, reproduced. Bibliography: E.L. Vigée-Lebrun, Souvenirs, Paris, 1986, tome II, p. 336 ; W.H. Helm, Vigée-Lebrun, Her Life, Works and Friendships, London, 1916, p. 193 ; A. Blum, Madame Vigée-Lebrun peintre des grandes dames du XVIIIème siècle, Paris, 1919, p.95; Exhibition catalog, Elisabeth Louise Vigée-Lebrun, Fort Worth, Kimbell Museum of Art, 1982, no. 3, notice by Joseph Baillio; Catalog of the Desmarais sale, New-York, Christie's, April 30, 2019, cited under n°123, reproduced. The identity of the model is known from the list of portraits Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun made, and in 1777 appears a "Mademoiselle Dartois". The artist's list includes a few errors and approximations, but our model must be Sophie d'Artois (1776-1783) who was one year old in 1777, which corresponds to the age of the girl pictured. Sophie de Bourbon was the daughter of Charles Philippe, Comte d'Artois (1757-1836), younger brother of Louis XVI and future Charles X. Daughter of painter Louis Vigée (1715-1767), her first teacher, Elisabeth also frequented the studios of Marie Rosalie Hallé, Gabriel Briard and Davesne. By the early 1770s, both her clientele and her reputation were growing. She married art dealer Jean Baptiste Pierre Lebrun in 1776, and in the same year was commissioned by the Count of Provence, the King's brother, to work for the court of Louis XVI. In 1778, she became the Queen's official painter, and painted the first life portrait of Queen Marie-Antoinette: Marie-Antoinette en grand habit de cour (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum). She reached the peak of her career in 1783, when she was admitted to the Académie royale de peinture et sculpture thanks to the Queen's intervention. Renowned for her elegant portraits of the French nobility, it was particularly those of Marie-Antoinette that earned her an international reputation. Her ability to blend realism and intimacy revolutionized the way elites were portrayed. depicted. Vigée Le Brun had a particular talent for capturing innocence, curiosity and childlike joy. She multiplied her representations of children and those showing them in the company of their mothers. Since the publication of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's treatise on education, Emile, in 1762, the perception of the child has gradually changed in Enlightenment France. Hitherto perceived as a young adult, they acquired a special status that recognized them as individuals with needs and duties that differed from those of adults. As a result, the relationship between parent and child was transformed. The need to represent one's child at this ephemeral moment in life is becoming increasingly widespread. Although child portraits have existed since the 16th century, by the end of the 18th century children were no longer portrayed as miniature adults, but with age-appropriate clothing and attributes. In this portrait, the child is shown seated, playing with a ribbon and a rose. A blue ribbon and lace bonnet frames a childlike face with innocent features. The light, the girl's gaze and the pale blue tones give the composition a feeling of great gentleness. The lace dress and bonnet, as well as the child's posture, are similar to those of the little girl in Portrait des enfants de la baronne d'Esthal, in a private collection. This painting will be included in the catalog raisonné of Madame Vigée-Lebrun's works currently being prepared by Joseph Baillio.