Self Portrait in a Straw Hat

Neoclassicism

Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun

Self Portrait in a Straw Hat

1782

Oil on canvas, 38 1/2 × 27 3/4 in. The National Gallery, London

A portraitist shows herself with palette and brushes: the woman painter as both artist and elegant sitter.

Look at

  • Open sky and cloud behind the figure, so she is lit by outdoor daylight rather than studio light.
  • The hat's brim shades her face; the light below it is reflected, soft and warm.
  • Pink silk, black shawl and white ruff are each handled with a different surface: sheen, depth and crisp edge.
  • Her own signed copy of a 1782 self-portrait; the pose follows Rubens's portrait then called Le Chapeau de Paille.
  • The copy differs from the first version: the sky here is broken by clouds. In the National Gallery since 1897.

Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

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