JUDITH LISSAUER CROMWELL: LOUISIE-ÉLISABETH VIGÉE LE BRUN
Who was Louise-Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun—and why is one of history’s most successful female artists still relatively unknown? In this episode, historian, and biographer Judith Lissauer Cromwell shares insights from her new book: “Louise-Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun: Portrait of an Artist, 1755–1842.” Watch here in the YouTube player or download the episode on Podbean.
he latest biography from historian Judith Lissauer Cromwell follows the remarkable life of Louise-Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, whose portraits of European royalty and nobility hang in many of the world’s most important galleries. As a young woman in the male dominated society of 18th century France, she was denied an artistic education and forced to nurture her passion outside of conventional schooling. Vigée Le Brun’s vibrant art, in addition to her charm and beauty, caught the attention of Queen Marie-Antoinette, who honored her as her chosen painter. At the pinnacle of her fame and fortune, however, the Revolution forced Vigée Le Brun to flee, leaving everything behind except her only child.
Drawn from Vigée Le Brun’s memoirs, archival research, and reexamination of the judgment of her contemporaries, this biography paints a fascinating picture of a single working mother who survived because of her cachet, charisma, and artistic talent. Cast on a storm-tossed continent, solely reliant on her palette, she produced some of her major works during her twelve-year exile, returning to France to continue her work after Napoleon had restored stability. Vigée Le Brun’s story is one of triumph, adversity, perseverance and ultimately, peace.
ABOUT JUDITH LISSAUER CROMWELL: After a successful corporate career, Judith returned to academia as an independent historian and biographer of powerful women. Her experience as a magna cum laude graduate of Smith College, holder of a doctorate in modern European history with academic distinction from New York University, veteran of corporate America, mother, and grandmother, enrich Cromwell’s perspective on strong women in history.
The daughter of a pioneering female physician, one of a handful admitted to the staff of New York Hospital in the early 1950s, Cromwell entered the international world of Wall Street in 1973 as one of its few female executives. During her twenty year career, she established a global firm’s company-wide information center, then founded the firm’s market research department where she organized, executed, and presented strategic planning projects. She not only thrived in the clubby male world of Wall Street, but also, as a single working parent, raised two children. Judith was elected a member of the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers.
She is the author of the biographies “Dorothea Lieven: A Russian Princess in London and Paris 1785-1857,” “Florence Nightingale, Feminist,” and “Good Queen Anne: Appraising the Life and Reign of the Last Stuart Monarch.” Her latest biography, “Louise-Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun: Portrait of an Artist, 1755-1842” provides a fresh and balanced perspective on the life of a renowned, yet often overlooked, painter. Learn more about Judith’s work at: https://www.judithcromwell.com/
