Six centuries of artistic creation
1755-1842
It was probably in 1782 that Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, one of the most interesting French painters of the second half of the 18th century, portrayed her best friend Anne Catherine, Comtesse de Verdun. The young Countess, about 22, is dressed in an informal and rural manner, with her hair down, a wide-brimmed straw hat decorated with a light blue ribbon, and a small bunch of flowers and ears of corn. The naturalness and realism of the representation, the harmony in the subtle use of juxtaposition and tonal association, the illumination of the face, the economy and balance of the colour palette, are some of the aspects of this painting that reflect the talent of Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun as a painter and a portraitist.
| Oil on canvas, 67 x 57 cm
| LISBON. National Museum of Ancient Art (MNAA)
