''Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Marie-Gabrielle Capet and Marie Marguerite Carreaux de Rosemond'' is a 1785

self-portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

painting by

Adélaïde Labille-Guiard Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (née Labille; 11 April 1749 – 24 April 1803), also known as Adélaïde Labille-Guiard des Vertus, was a French miniaturist and portrait painter. She was an advocate for women to receive the same opportunities as men ...

depicting the artist with two of her pupils,

Marie-Gabrielle Capet Marie-Gabrielle Capet (6 September 1761 – 1 November 1818) was a French Neoclassical painter. She was born in Lyon on 6 September 1761. Capet came from a modest background and her previous background and artistic training is unknown, but in 1 ...

and

Marie-Marguerite Carreaux de Rosemond Marie-Marguerite Carreaux de Rosemond, sometimes Carraux de Rozemont (died 1788) was a French painter. Carreaux de Rosemond was a pupil of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, one of the nine young women whose work was remarked upon at the Expositions de ...

. It is in the collection of the

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 ...

Early history and creation

Marie Gabrielle Capet and Marie Marguerite Carreaux de Rosemond MET DP213786

Labille-Guiard was born in Paris on 11 April 1749, the youngest of eight children. She grew up in a neighbourhood of artists and, on her own initiative, began painting and receiving training from them. She began to take students of her own in 1780. They were all female, and she was an advocate for women's involvement in painting. Labille-Guiard spent time planning this painting and there is a chalk study by Labille-Guiard of the two heads of her students where she investigates the closeness of the students heads and the effect of the light. The figure on the left,

, was one of the most talented students and Labille-Guiard's favourite. She lived with the artist even after Labille-Guiard married her first teacher's son, the painter

François-André Vincent François-André Vincent (; 30 December 1746 – 4 August 1816) was a French neoclassical painter. Biography Vincent was born in Paris in 1746, the son of the miniaturist François-Elie Vincent. He studied under Joseph-Marie Vien and was ...

. The painting shows Labille-Guiard in a gown and straw hat, and she depicts the materials complexity and the reflection of the dress in the parquet floor. The arrangement of the students heads shows her skill in presenting the interplay of light between their faces. The students are less formally dressed, and in the background are statues of a

vestal virgin In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty ...

and a bust of the artist's father. The finished painting is almost life-size, and it has been speculated that the artist and one of the pupils are looking at a mirror. In this case, Labille-Guiard is actually painting the very painting the observer sees.

Later history and display

The painting remained the property of the family of the artist until 1905. It was donated in 1953 to ''The Met'' by

Julia Berwind Julia A. Berwind (1864- May 18, 1961) was a Newport, Rhode Island socialite, and a social welfare activist. Biography She was born in Philadelphia, the sister of coal magnates Edward Julius Berwind and Charles Frederick Berwind. She was the owner o ...

Description and interpretation

The work depicts

and

. It has been argued that the painting was aimed at the

Académie Royale An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. Labille-Guiard aspired to become a member, and at the time, the Académie Royale limited female new members to four per year. Illustrating two female students argued that more should be accepted into the Académie Royale.

Influences

The structure of the painting with the easel at left suggests that she may have based her composition on

Antoine Coypel Antoine Coypel (11 April 16617 January 1722) was a French painter, pastellist, engraver, decorative designer and draughtsman. This was an important painting in establishing the artists reputation. She was given an allowance by the King, but because of her students she was not given a studio. This painting is thought to have been the basis for

Jean-Laurent Mosnier Jean-Laurent Mosnier (; (Paris) 1743 – (Saint Petersburg) 10 April 1808) was a French painter and miniaturist. Court painter under the Ancien Régime, Mosnier began, from 1789, a brilliant career as society painter in London, Hamburg and St. ...

's painting of himself with his young daughters. It is thought that his ambition was to clone the success of this painting. The painting has been used for book covers, and it is a standard image for many histories of art. It is said to be the earliest known picture of a woman painter with female pupils.

References

Bibliography

* * {{cite book, last1=Auricchio , first1=Laura, title=Adélaïde Labille-Guiard: Artist in the Age of Revolution, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XJkvjgxwby4C&pg=PA40, year=2009, publisher=Getty Publications, isbn=978-0-89236-954-6 Paintings in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Portraits of women Self-portraits 1785 paintings 18th-century portraits Portraits by French artists French paintings Paintings about painting