Beyond the Surface: Labille-Guiard's Celebration of the Mind

Madame Adélaïde stands to the left of a portrait that she painted of her parents and late brother. It bears the inscription "Leur image est encore la charme de ma vie." ("Their image is still the charm of my life.") That the painting is a work produced by Madame Adélaïde's hand is no coincidence. It is one way of a woman artist showing her audience that women could produce beautiful artworks if they are given the proper conditions in which to harness their talent. Looking at her right hand, we can see that she is holding a stylus, most likely the very stylus that produced the inscription on the painting. Her left hand holds a cloth, which she probably used to wipe ink off of her hands. The presence of these two objects point to the fact that she has just completed the painting. This is also not a coincidence. It is to depict the sitter as active, which contrasts her with the many passive female sitters of contemporary portraits.

This painting couples with the relief above her (which resresents her and her sister Madame Victoire attending their father on his deathbed) to depict her as a dedicated daughter and sister. The footstool in the lower left corner holds a plan of a convent that Madame Adélaïde directed. This conveys her capability in assuming responsibility in addition to her charitable nature. These characteristics may aim to contrast Madame Adélaïde with other women of the aristocracy, as well as the queen Marie-Antoinette, who were seen by progressive philosophes (and Labille-Guiard, who would eventually support the French Revolution) as frivolous and greedy.(2)

Artistic talent, responsibility, charity, and familial dedication rise above beauty in this portrait. They celebrate the sitter's mind over her appearance. Madame Adélaïde stands in the centre of the portrait, surrounded with symbols of this celebration, returning the gaze of the spectator as if to verify her accomplishments. She is neither a traded commodity nor a prize that exists through a dominant male; she is her own person who exists for herself, following her chosen path.

List of Images

Further Reading

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Notes

(1) Jessica Cresseveur, "Some Reasons behind the (Self-)Portrait." 2-part article (5 Dec. 2004): http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/wome...

(2) Museum label description. http://www.speedmuseum.org/european_art....

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