Museums →
Nationalmuseum
Artist: Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755–1842)
Alternative names: Marie Louise Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun; Vigée-Le Brun
French portrait painter
Work location: Court of Louis XVI, Europe
Title: Portrait of a Young Lady as Flora
Object type: Painting
Description: I t became common in the 18th century for women to have their portraits painted in a variety of roles – as a shepherdess or a mythological figure. This woman appears as Flora, the goddess of vegetation and fertility. She wears a costume, inspired by antiquity, that leaves one breast bare. In earlier times, bare breasts could symbolise maternity, but here there is more of an erotic overtone. The portrait was painted by Élisabeth Louise Vigée- Lebrun, one of France’s leading portraitists before, during and after the French Revolution.
Date: 1811
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: Height: 72 cm (28.3 in). Width: 60 cm (23.6 in).
Framed: Height: 95 cm (37.4 in). Width: 80 cm (31.5 in). Depth: 6 cm (2.4 in).
Inscriptions (Swedish): Signerad: Mde Lebrun. f.1811
SKU: 272745
