Marie-Guillemine Benoist, born Marie-Guillemine de Laville-Leroux (December 18, 1768 – October 8, 1826), was a French neoclassical,

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, and

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

Biography

Benoist was born in Paris, the daughter of a civil servant. Her training as an artist began in 1781 under

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (; 16 April 1755 – 30 March 1842), also known as Madame Le Brun, was a French portrait painter, especially of women, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Her artistic style is generally considered part o ...

, and she entered

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

's atelier in 1786 along with her sister

Marie-Élisabeth Laville-Leroux Marie-Élisabeth Laville-Leroux (27 March 1770The date 1770 is given by Astrid Reuter, page 109. – 23 July 1826) was a French painter. Like her sister, Marie-Guillemine Benoist, she studied (in 1787) under Jacques-Louis David, David. Her moth ...

. The poet

Charles-Albert Demoustier Charles-Albert Demoustier (13 March 1760 – 2 March 1801) was a French writer. He falsely claimed to be a descendant of La Fontaine by his mother and Jean Racine, Racine by his father. Demoustier was born in Villers-Cotterêts. He worked as a l ...

, who met her in 1784, was inspired by her in creating the character Émilie in his work ''Lettres à Émilie sur la mythologie'' (1801). In 1791, Benoist exhibited for the first time at the ''

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

'', displaying her mythology-inspired picture ''Psyché faisant ses adieux à sa famille''. Another of her paintings of this period, ''L'Innocence entre la vertu et le vice'', is similarly mythological and reveals her feminist interests—in this picture, vice is represented by a man, although it was traditionally represented by a woman. In 1793, she married the lawyer Pierre-Vincent Benoist. Her work, reflecting the influence of

, tended increasingly toward

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

by 1795. In 1800, Benoist exhibited ''Portrait d'une négresse'' (as of 2019 renamed ''Portrait de Madeleine')'' in the ''Salon''. Six years previously, slavery had been abolished, and this image became a symbol for women's emancipation and black people's rights. James Smalls, a professor of Art History at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, declared that "the painting is an anomaly because it presents a black person as the sole aestheticized subject and object of a work of art." The picture was acquired by

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

for France in 1818. An important commission for a full-length portrait of

Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

—''Premier Consul Français'' in this period—was awarded to her in 1803. This portrait was to be sent to the city of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, newly ceded to France by the

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...

in 1801. Other honors came to her; she was awarded a Gold Medal in the ''Salon'' of 1804, and received a governmental allowance. During this time she opened an atelier for the artistic training of women. Her career was harmed by political developments, however, when her husband, the supporter of royalist causes, Comte Benoist, was nominated in the Conseil d'État during the post-1814

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * ...

. Despite being at the height of her popularity, "she was obliged to abandon painting" and pursuing women's causes, due in part to her ''devoir de réserve'' ("tactful withdrawal") in the face of the growing wave of conservatism in European society.

Works

* ''Self-portrait'', 1786 (

Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe The Staatliche Kunsthalle (State Art Gallery) is an art museum in Karlsruhe, Germany. The museum, created by architect Heinrich Hübsch, opened in 1846 after nine years of work in a neoclassical building next to the Karlsruhe Castle and the ...

) * ''Psyché faisant ses adieux a sa famille'' (1791) * ''L'Innocence entre la vertu et le vice'' *''Portrait of Madeleine'' (previously known as ''Portrait d’une négresse'' (1800,

Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

)) * ''Portrait Madame Philippe Panon Debassayns de Richmont and Her Son Eugene'' (1802,

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

) * ''Portrait de Napoléon'' (1804, court of

) * ''Portrait du Maréchal Brune'' (1805, détruit; une copie se trouve au Musée du

Château de Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

) * ''Portrait de Pauline Borghèse'' (1807, Musée du Château de Versailles) * ''Portrait de Marie-Élise, grande duchesse de Toscane'' (Pinacoteca Nazionale,

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one o ...

) * ''Portrait de l’impératrice Marie-Louise'' (

Château de Fontainebleau Palace of Fontainebleau (; ) or Château de Fontainebleau, located southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The medieval castle and subsequent palace served as a residence f ...

) * ''La lecture de la Bible'', (1810, musée municipal,

Louviers Louviers () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. Louviers is from Paris and from Rouen. Population History Prehistory In the ...

) * ''La Consultation'' ou ''La Diseuse de bonne-aventure'', Saintes Musée municipal.

Gallery

File:Innocence between Vice and Virtue by Marie-Guillemine Benoist.jpg, ''Innocence between Vice and Virtue'', 1790 (private collection) File:Marie-Guillemine Benoist - Les Adieux de Psyché à sa famille.jpg, ''Psyche Bidding Farewell to Her Family'', 1791 (

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), comprising the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in the city of San Francisco. The permanent collection of the ...

) File:Madame Philippe Panon Desbassayns de Richemont (Jeanne Eglé Mourgue, 1778–1855) and Her Son, Eugène (1800–1859) MET DT1995.jpg, ''Madame Philippe Panon Desbassayns de Richemont (Jeanne Eglé Mourgue) and Her Son Eugène'' (

) Image:Marie Guilhelmine Benoist - Portrait of Elisa Bonaparte.jpg,

Elisa Bonaparte Maria Anna Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi Levoy (French language, French: ''Marie Anne Elisa Bonaparte''; 3 January 1777 – 7 August 1820), better known as Elisa Bonaparte, was an imperial French princess and sister of Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte. ...

, Emperor Napoleon's sister and Duchess of Lucca, 1806 (

Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Mansi The Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Mansi is one of the two main art museum hosting tapestry collections and mainly post-19th century art collections owned by the city of Lucca, Italy. The collection is displayed in the Baroque palace, formerly belongi ...

) File:Marie-Guillemine Benoist - Le sommeil de l'enfance et celui de la vieillesse.jpg, ''The Sleep of Childhood and that of Old Age'', 1806 (private collection)

References

Bibliography

*Marie-Juliette Ballot, ''Une élève de David, La Comtesse Benoist, L'Émilie de Demoustier, 1768-1826'', Plon, Paris, 1914 *Astrid Reuter, ''Marie-Guilhelmine Benoist, Gestaltungsräume einer Künstlerin um 1800'', Lukas Verlag, Berlin, 2002

External links