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Self-Portrait in Traveling Costume
Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun French
Not on view
With her nine-year-old daughter and the child’s governess, Vigée Le Brun fled revolutionary Paris for Italy in the autumn of 1789. There she drew on a wealth of talent to re-create herself in spite of the circumstances that had driven her from home. She is in travel attire—a coat, fichu, and bonnet—looking younger than her true age. To document this moment of transition she chose pastel, the technique par excellence for travelers.
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