The Collection
The American Wing Ancient Near Eastern Art Arms and Armor The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing Asian Art The Cloisters The Costume Institute Drawings and Prints Egyptian Art European Paintings European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Greek and Roman Art Islamic Art Robert Lehman Collection The Libraries Medieval Art Musical Instruments Photographs Antonio Ratti Textile Center Modern and Contemporary Art

Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.

Countess Anna Ivanovna Tolstaya

Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun French

1796

Not on view

By ordering this portrait from Vigée Le Brun, Countess Tolstaya (1774–1825) perpetuated a family preference for women painters, her mother having patronized Angelica Kauffmann. The imaginary natural setting provides a seat and something to lean on—comforts the artist strove to provide her sitters. The chemise dress is reminiscent of the attire Marie Antoinette favored in the 1780s.

Countess Anna Ivanovna Tolstaya, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, Paris 1755–1842 Paris), Oil on canvas — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Countess Anna Ivanovna Tolstaya

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

Date: 1796

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 54 1/4 × 41 in. (137.7 × 104 cm)
Frame: 65 3/8 × 51 3/4 × 2 15/16 in. (166 × 131.4 × 7.5 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

Accession Number: SL.1.2016.33.1

The Met

European Paintings at The Met

The Met's celebrated European Paintings collection encompasses more than 2,500 works of art from the thirteenth through the early twentieth century.