Souvenirs of Madame Vigée Le Brun

The most accomplished female painter of her age, Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1755–1842) is best remembered for her many portraits of Queen Marie Antoinette of France. Her two-volume autobiography was published in France in 1835–7, and this English version (of which the translator is unknown) in 1879. It begins with a series of ten letters to a Russian friend, Princess Kourakin, describing her family and early life, her artistic training, and her rise to the position of portraitist to the queen. The