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Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun, 'Baronne de Crussol Florensac', 1785

 


With the bold choice of a wide-brimmed hat to frame the face of the sitter, the viewer's eye meets the fleeting gaze of the Baroness de Crussol Florensac. The artist's recurring interest in lighting that can be traced throughout her portraits (for instance, Self Portrait with a Straw Hat now in London's National Gallery) is illuminated on the face here. The choice of pose is unusual, but allows the face of the Baroness to be bathed in a soft, angelic glow. With her lips slightly parted, and with a fleeting smile, she seems to be briefly acknowledging the viewer but with little interest. Not only is she elegance personified, but her social status as a member of the aristocracy is also emphasised.

The composition is balanced and harmonious, as is the colouration of the piece. The dark, wide hat complements the fur tailoring on the dress of the figure, promoting Vigee's virtuosic capabilities in rendering texture. Atop the hat sits a halo of red fabric, almost crowning the figure in luxurious materiality. The careful attention to the folds of fabric further emphasises the importance of luxury to the figure. Even the lace that slips out of the sleeve seems tactile, the figure entering our own world yet separated from us both by her status, her twisted pose and the plush, green chaise lounge that creates distance between the real world and this world of luxury. 

Little is known about the Baroness, but her elegance, wealth and grace are all made evident by the artist. At this point in her career, Vigee was exhibiting regularly at the Salon of the Academie in Paris. She operated in aristocratic circles, aided by her social skills and natural charm. The piece of music that the Baroness holds is a score of opera music by Christoph Gluck who happened to be the favoured composer of Marie Antoinette. It provides an interesting crossover between Vigee's elite patrons. Vigee would eventually travel from Paris on the eve of revolution through Italy, Austria and Russia, all the while producing paintings for great sums of money. She was taught mainly by her father, which was often the case for women of this century if they were to achieve anything akin to success in the arts. However her father died when she was only twelve, so mostly self taught all her life, she built a career for herself, by herself. Only recently has she been re-accepted as a key artist of her time. 

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