The Memoirs of Madame Vigée Lebrun

Description

The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Publisher: Grant Richards; Publication date: 1903; Subjects: Portrait painters; Artists; Art / History / General; Art / European; Art / Individual Artist; Biography

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Memoirs of Madame Vigee-Lebrun (Illustrated Edition) (Dodo Press)

Description

Elisabeth-Louise Vigee-Lebrun (1755-1842) was a French painter. Her style is generally considered Rococo and shows interest in the subject of neoclassical painting. By the time she was in her early teens, she was painting portraits professionally. After her studio was seized, for practicing without a license, she applied to the Academie de Saint Luc, which unwillingly exhibited her works in their Salon. In 1783, she was made a member of the Academie. She painted portraits of many of the nobility of the day and as her career blossomed, she was invited to the Palace of Versailles to paint Marie Antoinette. After the arrest of the royal family during the French Revolution Vigee-Lebrun fled France with her young daughter Julie. She lived and worked for some years in Italy, Austria, and Russia. She was welcomed back to France during the reign of Emperor Napoleon I. She visited England at the beginning of the nineteenth century and painted the portrait of several British notables including Lord Byron. She published her memoirs in 1835 and 1837, which provide an interesting view of the training of artists at the end of the period dominated by royal academies.

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Customer Reviews

Memoirs Of Madame Vigee Lebrun by Louise-Elisabeth Vigee Lebrun
After Researching Some French Ancestory ,I Stumbled Upon A Self Portrait Of Elizabeth Vigee Lebrun At The Age Of 53 .I Was Shocked To See How Much She Resembles Me.Since The Discovery I Have Wanted To Know More About Her .I Truly Got To Know Vigee Lebrun Through Her Memoirs.This Was Really A Great Book.

2009-03-27 (Sevierville ,Tennessee...U.S.A.) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Memoirs Of Madame Vigee Lebrun
As an artist myself, I was fascinated by Vigee Lebrun's very prolific and successful career. This book does not go into her training or working techniques very much, however it does talk about specific paintings and conditions under which she worked. What was very interesting was her description of the French and Russian aristocracy during the years that lead to their death and destruction. I enjoyed reading about them from the point of view of someone who not only worked with those people, but counted them as close friends.

2008-08-28 (Annapolis, maryland United States) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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Magnificent!
I bought this book on a whim, and am tremendously happy that I did- It has become a touchstone and a favorite. Mme. Vigee Lebrun's voice is incredible- filled with warmth, humor, charm... her optimism and determination in the face of overwhelming adversity is admirable to say the least (the deaths of family, friends, patrons to the Revolution, the loss of her home, possessions... even her income to gambling-addict husband)... I cannot believe that there are not more books or historical entries amassed to such a phenomenal talent, a remarkable woman!

2008-03-02 (Chicago, IL USA) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 5

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Madly entertaining!
This memoir by 18th-century French painter Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun (one of only two women admitted to the French Academy at that time) reads like a romance novel (in the best sense)! Follow Madame Vigee-Lebrun as she creates portraits of Marie Antoinette, endures the tribulations of an arranged marriage, flees to Russia to escape the Revolution's guillotine, and returns to paint portraits of (and gossip about) a new court ruled by Napoleon. It's hard to tell how strictly truthful Madame was, but her exciting life makes for a fascinating read, especially for artistic women.

2002-12-02 (Berkeley, CA USA) | Helpful Votes: 6 | Rating: 5

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Souvenirs De Madame Vigée Le Brun, Volumes 1-2 (French Edition)

Description

This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

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Souvenirs of Madame Vigée Le Brun

Description

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

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The memoirs of Elisabeth Vigee-Le Brun

Description

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Customer Reviews

Great memoir
This is a facinating autobiography. You get a good sense of the times and the horrors of the French revolution. I read it on line, but I hope to find it on paper, also.

2004-01-02 | screaminbob (Corte Madera, CA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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unabridged!
I read the 1903 edition of Vigee-LeBrun's memoirs (translated by Lionel Strachey), and had no idea how much had been left out. If you're interested in Vigee-LeBrun, this is the book to get! (Too bad it's out of print!) Her life was fascinating, and she tells it best. Travel with her from Revolutionary France to the court of Catherine the Great. Evans' translation is very fluid. Don't miss the "pen portraits" at the back of the book--they describe the artist's famous friends and acquaintances, such as Jacques-Louis David and Benjamin Franklin.

2003-07-09 (Berkeley, CA USA) | Helpful Votes: 6 | Rating: 5

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Fascinating as well as educational
I initially read this book to provide me with information about Mme. Vigee-Lebrun, my favorite woman artist, for a paper I was writing about her. As I read the book, I began to find it painful to put it down to take notes because I had become so engrossed in its content. In addition to providing hours of fascination, this book will prove to be an asset to those interested in knowing more about Vigee-Lebrun.

1999-06-05 | Helpful Votes: 11 | Rating: 5

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[Souvenirs de] Madame Vigée Le Brun (French Edition)

Description

This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org

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