Two Artistis, One Revolution: Jacques Louis David and Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun
Graduation Date
Spring 2006
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program Name
Humanities
First Reader
Leslie Ross, PhD
Second Reader
Patricia Dougherty, OP, PhD
Abstract
Jacques Louis David (1748 - 1825) and Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun (1755 - 1842) were two prominent and influential French painters of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This thesis examines the lives of these two artists during and after the French Revolution (1789-1815). Vigée-LeBrun’s work consists mainly of portraits commissioned by European nobility, most notably Queen Marie Antoinette (1755-1793). Her specialization in portraiture was largely due to the limited professional opportunities for women artists. David’s work also includes portraits, as well as historical and allegorical paintings, genres reserved for male artists. Unlike Vigée-LeBrun, a staunch monarchist, David adeptly maneuvered his way through Louis VXI’s (1754 - 1793) reign, the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic Era (1799 - 1815). The lives of Vigée-LeBrun and David demonstrate that gender largely influenced their personal and political choices.