Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger
Historical Context
Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun painted this 1774 portrait of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger, the royal sculptor, when she was just nineteen years old. Already displaying the luminous, flattering portrait style that would make her Marie Antoinette's preferred painter, this early work demonstrates extraordinary precocity. Vigée Le Brun became the most celebrated female painter of the eighteenth century.
Technical Analysis
The oil on canvas shows the young Vigée Le Brun's already remarkable facility with warm, luminous flesh tones and refined brushwork. The portrait captures the sculptor's character with the flattering yet perceptive approach that would define her mature career.
Provenance
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger (1704-1778), Paris, France, by inheritance to the Lemoyne Family; Lemoyne Family, by inheritance to Yves Le Moyne; Yves Le Moyne, sold through Hotel Drouot; Sale: Hotel Drouot, Paris, France, February 5, 1912, lot 76; Paul J. Vignos, Jr. (1919-2010), Cleveland, OH, upon his death, held in trust by the estate.; Estate of Paul J. Vignos, Jr., by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
