Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun: A Woman Painter in an Age of Revolution

Long before Instagram, fashion influencer Marie-Antoinette had Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun ...

Born in Paris to humble origins, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun overcame all obstacles to become Marie-Antoinette’s favorite court painter and one of the most fashionable and sought-after portraitists of the late eighteenth century. Known for infusing her work with a freshness and spirit, Le Brun’s career spanned the Ancien Régime, the Revolution, the Empire, and the Restoration. She worked not only at the French Court, but also at the Hapsburg Court in Vienna, Ferdinand IV’s Court of Naples, and for Catherine the Great at St. Petersburg.

Join us as we explore the life and career of this highly successful painter through the prism of this fascinating time. Thanks to recent reassessments of her work, Le Brun is finally finding her place alongside other great 18th-century artists such as Fragonard, Boucher, and Chardin. First offered in Spring 2022.

Maria Mack D’Amario is an art historian specializing in European decorative arts and the American Gilded Age. A graduate of Denison University, Maria holds a post-graduate diploma in the history of art from the University of Oxford. She also holds an M.A. in the Venetian Renaissance from the University of Warwick in Coventry, U.K. Maria has worked with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Royal Collection Trust and Lots Road Galleries. She has served as trustee and steering committee member of the U.K. Friends of the National Museum of Women in The Arts in Washington, D.C. Currently, Maria works for the Preservation Society of Newport County.