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Self-portrait in a Straw Hat
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun · Rococo & Neoclassicism
- Artist
- Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755–1842)
- Date
- after 1782
- Dimensions
- 97.8 x 70.5 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- National Gallery, London, United Kingdom
In this self-portrait, the young French painter shows herself outdoors under a blue sky, wearing a straw hat decorated with flowers and an ostrich feather, a simple dress and a shawl. She holds a palette and brushes in one hand and gestures openly with the other.
A closer look
Vigée Le Brun painted this work in homage to Rubens's Le Chapeau de Paille, which she had admired in Antwerp in 1782: she copied his idea of a face lit by daylight under the shadow of a broad hat, with reflections that make the skin glow. Her face is fresh and smiling, her natural curls free of powder, in keeping with the new fashion for simplicity. By showing herself with a palette, she asserted her status as a professional artist; the following year she was admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting, one of very few women.
