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Allegory of Poetry

Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun French

1774

Not on view

Vigée was nineteen when officials sealed her studio on the pretext that she was painting professionally without having joined a guild. She therefore applied and was admitted to the Académie de Saint-Luc. Of the works she contributed to her first exhibition, three were allegories of the arts: Painting, Poetry, and Music. Here, Poetry, a draped nude, writes in a portfolio with a goose quill. She looks upward, conveying a moment of inspiration.

Allegory of Poetry, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, Paris 1755–1842 Paris), Oil on canvas — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Allegory of Poetry

Artist: Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, Paris 1755–1842 Paris)

Date: 1774

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 31 1/2 × 25 5/8 in. (80 × 65 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Henry and Catherine Robet

The Met

European Paintings at The Met

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