Is Le Brun’s Portrait of a Young Woman a misandrist work of genius?

Young Lizzie Lou Le Brun was a baller- by only 15. Louise Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun (say that five times fast) was supporting her mother, little brother, and herself through painting portraits of the wealthy, and she was mostly self-taught. When I was 15, I was waiting for my first kiss and trying to figure out bangs, but I turned out okay? Eventually, Le Brun painted a portrait of Marie Antoinette so beautiful, the queen lost her head and Le Brun's success only increased.

Unlike many of Le Brun’s portraits, Portrait of a Young Woman is a mystery! The young woman is believed by some to be dancer Aimee Vestris , and the much younger (by 14 years!) wife of the very famous dancer Auguste Vestris who was apparently so unfaithful it pushed this beautiful woman to attempt suicide. This painting was finished six years before Aimee died at the young age of 32, which some attribute to her attempted suicide. There is literally no information on her anywhere, even though she was a principal dancer in the Paris Opera for 16 years, but we know her husband was considered “stupid, insolent, and impudent” by the Opera’s director. He also was put in prison for refusing to dance for the King, and just generally sounds like a delight.

The identity of the Young Woman is uncertain, which isn’t helped by her Greek themed outfit, giving us no context to her social status or wealth, nor the looming mysterious background. She is glowy AF, and sporting a delightful sheer veil in a blue that matches her eyes. The young woman is playing coy by looking away from the viewer, which is only common in Le Brun’s portraits that depict a real person as a fictional character- a greek goddess or vague quality like “Flora”. The portrait is only missing a man talking about his band, just look at that expression.

Aimee, who this portrait supposedly depicts, may have been a great dancer but has left absolutely no internet presence, and the information on this painting is scarce and repetitive- most likely because Vigee Le Brun, like many talented women painters, fell in and out of style. We do know she met Auguste Vestris and was v impressed with his lightness of foot, so it is possible she painted his wife’s portrait. It seems even a painter as famous during her lifestyle as Vigee Le Brun was not protected from sexism.

Perhaps more important than the true identity of the subject, we see how truly talented Vigee Le Brun was- the beautiful sheerness of the veil, the skin so dewey you want to reach out and touch it (don’t-you can’t touch stuff in a museum!), the sensuous fabric, and the controlled emotion of the young woman’s face all a testament to the skill of the painter. The title, Portrait of a Young Woman, is purposefully vague as if to insinuate that the subject is every woman- uniquely beautiful and emotionally complicated.

There could be another option, so listen up for some TEA. I have it on good authority (aka I read Le Brun’s juicy AF memoirs) that the artist and her daughter Julie had a very tumultuous relationship. In 1799 Julie married Nigris, a Russian secretary Elisabeth believed “without talents, without fortune, without name”, and Le Brun was beside herself. Even the thought of the marriage was so upsetting to Le Brun that it became public spectacle within the Russian aristocracy- even Nigris’ employers threatened to aide in kidnapping Julie in a juicy plot twist! This painting was completed in 1803, and that marriage of hers only lasted until 1808. Perhaps this curly headed beauty is actually her estranged daughter, back in Russia. Either way, Vigee Le Brun has taught us: glowy skin is timeless, avoid men, and listen to what your mother says.