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Louise Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun

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Artist

The Resume

    (April 16, 1755-March 30, 1842)
    Born in Paris, France
    Birth name was Marie Elisabeth Louise Vigee
    Painted 600 portraits and 200 landscapes
    Court painter for Marie Antoinette

Why she might be annoying:

    Her name is also spelled LeBrun and Lebrun.
    Also, Vigee and LeBrun are sometimes connected by a hyphen, sometimes not.
    When she attended convent school, she was constantly in trouble for writing on the walls with chalk.
    She caused a minor scandal when she painted a self-portrait in which she showed -- gasp! -- her teeth as she smiled.
    Her paintings were used as propaganda to improve Marie Antoinette's image by depicting her as a loving mother.
    She was allowed into the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture only through the intervention of King Louis XVI (who, in turn, was pressured by Marie Antoinette).

Why she might not be annoying:

    In her teens, she became the main financial support for her family, who had been left penniless by her father's death.
    The Royal Academy's objection to her membership had nothing to do with her talents or even (surprisingly) her gender, but was based on the fact that her husband was an art dealer.
    She was forced into exile for a dozen years by the French Revolution.
    She had a flair for innovative poses and a knack for capturing a sitter's likeness with relative ease.
    She said her 'only true happiness has been in painting.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying