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Self-Portrait

Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun French

Not on view

In Florence, Vigée Le Brun admired the famous collection of artists’ self-portraits in the Corridoio Vasariano at the Uffizi. Asked to add her own image, she later wrote: “I painted myself with a palette in hand, in front of a canvas on which I am drawing the queen in white chalk.” Both her subject and her elegant black silk gown were intended to evoke the power and prestige of her position as a painter to the king of France. The scarlet sash adds a bold touch.

Self-Portrait, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, Paris 1755–1842 Paris), Oil on canvas

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