One of the paintings in the European Paintings Gallery that greatly impressed me was Marie Gabrielle Capet’s self portrait with two of her students. The work is a tour de force in design and composition. The arrangement of the figures in the relation to the large canvas before Marie create wonderful diagonal lines and triangular shapes thus creating a sense of dynamic energy and movement. Our eyes can’t help but follow along throughout the painting and then focus upon the artist herself. Though what really captivated me the most are the incredible textures of the dresses. The fabric is genius. I spent a fair amount of time examining the fabric, observing the application of paint and took some video which I have shared.

The history of the artist and the painting is quite interesting. The placard pictured reads as follows:

“Labille-Guiard’s self-portrait with her students Marie Gabrielle Capet and Marguerite Carreaux de Rosemond is one of the most remarkable images of women’s art education in early modern Europe. In 1783 when Labille-Guiard and Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun were admitted to the French Royal Academy, the number of women artists eligible for membership was limited to four. This canvas, shown with great success at the Salon of 1785, has been interpreted as a means of advocating their cause. As in most eighteenth-century artists’ self-portraits, Labille-Guiard depicted herself in impractically elegant clothing. Primarily a portraitist, she had especially faithful patrons in Louis XV’s daughters, known as Mesdames de France.”