Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun

The foremost woman artist of her age, Elisabeth Vige�e Le Brun (1755-1842) exerted her considerable charm to become the friend, and then official portraitist, of Marie Antoinette. Though profitable, this role made her a public and controversial figure, and in 1789 it precipitated her exile. In a Europe torn by strife and revolution, this singularly gifted and high-spirited woman nevertheless …