Sunday, July 20, 2008

Final Blog !


Adelaide Labille-Guiard's self portrait with two pupils, immediately caught my eye as a beautiful art piece. I was especially attracted to the beautiful blue of her extravagant dress, and the use of lighting to enhance the figures in the overall painting.
Adelaide was Queen Marie Antoinette's favorite painter in a time when women were not eagerly accepted as painters or for their talents. In 1783 she was elected one of the four places in the French Academy available to women, also that year she petitioned to end the restriction on women. In 1790 she was successful in ending the restriction on women. Adelaide was a strong proponent of the education of women artists and was awarded an annual stipend from the king, however, was she was denied the usual studio at court that normally accompanied the stipend because of the presence of her female pupils. But this did not stop her from receiving major commissions from the royal family.

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