Marie-Guillemine Benoist was born in Paris, was a French neoclassical, historical, and genre painter. the first daughter of a politician and a housewife with wealthy family status.
This is a self-portrait painting that she entered at the Royal Academy, 1786 Exposition.
Her training as an artist began in 1781 when she was 15 years old. She was confident in her skills and decided to apply to the Royal Academy. There were many challenges pre-modern women artists faced at the time. For example, there were only four women painters at this academy, and more would not be allowed. Since there were no spots Benoist was rejected. Under the suggestion of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Benoist entered Jacques-Louis David’s atelier in 1786 along with her sister Marie-Élisabeth Laville-Leroux. David was a french painter known to be the greatest painter of this time era. Jacques-Louis David taught her about his love for historical paintings which influenced Benoist’s work greatly. Benoist’s artwork also became more defined and she took inspiration from mythological artwork scenes.
This painting is called “Innocence between virtue and vice”. This is the picture that Benoist entered at the Salon. She and her sister were careful to choose this style of painting. Both sisters submitted classical and literary artworks including women in both scenes.
In 1791 Louvre Salon then became open to all exhibitors so Benoist got to work painting and was one out of twenty-two women who submitted artwork. Benoist marked her name at Louvre Salon with the fabulous painting Innocence between Virtue and Vice. The painting she submitted was similar to her sisters in the sense that they both started to embrace historical paintings. The historical subjects chosen sparked controversy in the town and she received backlash with people stating this painting must have been made by “thirty-six hands”. I think this is a major compliment for Benoist. Furthermore, in 1803, Benoist was commissioned to paint a full-body portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte which was a huge accomplishment. A gold medal was presented to her at the Salon in 1804. I think Marie-Guillemine Benoist was so talented and she was a strong woman for pushing past the Royal Academy by showing up many of the male artists.
When first exhibited this painting got a lot of critics who called it “black stain”. This painting is hung in the Salon and is the centre of all seven portraits. The way she is sitting is similar to Jacques-Louis David’s portraits.
