Self Portrait In A Straw Hat
Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
After 1782
Inspired by a Rubens masterpiece she saw in Antwerp, Vigée Le Brun painted herself wearing a massive, flower-adorned straw hat that was considered shockingly informal for the time. Holding her palette and brushes with a confident, rosy-cheeked gaze, she proudly declares her identity as a professional artist in 18th-century France. This fresh, natural look helped make her the favorite painter of Queen Marie Antoinette, proving that a little rustic charm could conquer the royal court. She was one of the few women accepted into the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture.
Location: National Gallery, London
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