Picture Day Friday: Vigée Le Brun

The portrait of the Marquise de Pezé and the Marquise de Rouget with her two children was painted in oils in 1787 by Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun. It's displayed at the National Gallery of Art and was a gift of the Bay Foundation in memory of Josephine Bay Paul and Ambassador Charles Ulrick Bay. Vigée Le Brun was famous for her portraits of the royal court before the French revolution and was a favorite of Marie Antoinette. She was France's most famous painter of the 18th century and often had a waiting list. She painted more than 800 (!!) portraits in her lifetime and is most known for her life-like depictions of women and children.