As Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun

Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, as seen in the lower painting in a self-portrait, was a celebrated and very successful portrait artist. She made a name for herself painting royalty in the 18th and early 19th centuries, Marie Antoinette in particular. In spite of her success, her life was not easy, and her autobiography makes for very interesting reading. I have a fascination for the social history of those times. What was daily life really like? We get just a glimpse of it in novels such as the ones by Jane Austen, and in many contemporary autobiographies. Yet what was common for the ones living in those times would not have been written, even though it would have been extraordinary reading for us.  
I wanted to put myself into a classic portrait, as I had done for others, and was considering who's portrait it would be, when I discovered a book in the library about Vigee Le Brun. Female artists were not common in her time, and her story is compelling, especially for me as an artist. She painted a number of self-portraits, so finding one that she did at an age close to mine became the perfect fit. 
So now that I have read about her life and painted her work, I really can't say that I know what it would have been like to be in her place, but at least I have an idea of what I would have looked like to be in her place. Fascinating stuff for sure. 

The Classic Portrait

Do you admire someone from history? Is there an era that you would like to see yourself in? If you went to a costume party, who would you go as? Recently I got inspired to try painting portraits with a historical twist by putting contemporary people, portrait commissions, into fascinating settings. I love to paint what I see and capture the details, so  it was a thrill to copy the work of an old master into a modern portrait. I see it as a way to honor the original artist, and as a way for my modern subject to honor someone from history. Take Art, my husband, for example. He has a special admiration for Reformation theologian and scholar William Tyndale (1494 - 1536). He chose to be painted into this black and white portrait painted by an unknown artist in the 1530s as a way to pay homage to a great man. Can you see yourself in a classic painting?