An Artist is Born

Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Self-Portrait, 1790, oil on canvas.

     Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun was born in Paris in 1755. She spent most of her early childhood raised by a wet nurse in the country side. Eventually, she was enrolled in a convent. Here, she learned to read and sew, acceptable social behaviors, and other skills that were necessary for young aristocratic women to develop. More importantly, the convent was where she discovered her love art. She frequently decorated the dormitory walls with charcoal figures and landscape drawings. Although she would get in trouble for this, it did not stifle her lively imagination.

     When Vigée Le Brun moved back home, her father, a minor artist, recognized his daughter's natural artistic talent. He encouraged her to pursue art and hone her craft, but unfortunately, he passed away when she was just 12 years old. Mourning the passing of her father, Vigée Le Brun decided to put down her brushes.