After painting the first major official portrait of Marie-Antoinette in 1778, to everybody’s satisfaction, Vigée Le Brun was regularly asked to portray the Queen.
Perfectly in line with the traditional role of a courtier, she always remained faithful, i.e. reproducing a good likeness but also enhancing the beauty of the model. She was a great success.
However, in 1783, she took some liberties when she depicted her wearing a «robe en gaulle». When the portrait was exhibited, it provoked indignation. Critics were surprised that such a noble model could appear in such an intimate gown. For all that, the artist did not lose any patrons among royalty or at the court.
The way she rendered complexions, fabrics and other materials, her unusual colour contrasts and subtle effects of light and shade pleased her select clientèle and ensured her success.
On the accessible and original theme of street art, through an immersive trail, with a rhythmic soundtrack and interactive activities: Loading is the exhibition you've been looking for to delight the whole family over the holidays! Follow the guide.
From 13 March, the Musée du Luxembourg will be bringing two worlds together: sport and design. Explore the role that design plays in sports performance, through a selection of installations, projections and objects at the cutting edge of design!
It was via the performing arts that the writer Gertrude Stein first found success, and it is in the performing arts that her influence endures. We have only to look at the creations of the dancer and choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, who developed in the 1980s a minimalist style in response to Stein’s work!
A monument of stone, glass and metal, the Grand Palais blends into the urban landscape. However, on closer inspection, it is in fact bursting with colour, and one of the challenges of the restoration work currently underway is to restore all its chromatic ranges.
