The Female Feminist in Rococo Art
Adélaïde Labille-Guiard was born in Paris, 1749 as the youngest out of eight children. While her family never possessed any connections to the arts, Labille-Guiard started her career at the age of 20 when she was admitted into the male-dominated Academie Royale after much determination and persistence. There she studied alongside the more famous Élisabeth Vigée-Le Brun, whose work would be compared to Labille-Guiard’s, even long after they finished school together. While Vigée-Le Brun was much more socially active and commissioned to do many portraits of Queen Marie Antoinette, Labille-Guiard made her mark as the painter for King Louis XVI’s aunts. Her work is most distinguishable by the matte and solid backgrounds she painted, in contrast to the popular trend of surrounding the subject with objects that flaunted their wealth. Her work is very detailed and has an almost photographic quality to them.
In her painting of the Marquise de Lafayette, Labille-Guiard’s use of a plain and natural background truly brings out the subject. This reminded me of the Mona Lisa by DaVinci and how the figure can work cohesively with the background but still appear as the focal point.
Labille-Guiard was also a prominent figure in supporting women’s rights and female artists. She was a devoted art teacher and supported her female pupils, and hoped of opening an all-girls art academy of her own. Unlike Vigée-Le Brun, she welcomed the French revolution and gave donations to the movement. This support allowed her to stay in Paris even after the French revolution to continue painting.
Here we can see Labille-Guiard’s devotion to her education of female artists. With a lack of extravagant props and her eager pupils in the back, Labille-Guiard appears most radiant and modest in her workspace.
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Natasha,
I really enjoyed reading about Labille-Guiard’s work here and I commend you on finding a lesser known but exceptional painter. Her work is beautiful and I especially like the self portrait with her pupils. Well done in your research and adding your personal feelings and insights to this painter. That is what I’m looking for in these posts. Keep it up!
Jeff