Comtesse Du Barry de Cérès
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The countess (1759–1834) is wearing rich complementary colors and folds a letter to which Vigée Le Brun has cleverly affixed her signature.
According to the painter, the sitter had "a charming and sweet face, though you could see something false in her eyes." Indeed, to divert public attention from her liaison with Calonne, controller general of finances, the countess spread rumors that it was Vigée Le Brun who was engaged in the affair.
According to the painter, the sitter had "a charming and sweet face, though you could see something false in her eyes." Indeed, to divert public attention from her liaison with Calonne, controller general of finances, the countess spread rumors that it was Vigée Le Brun who was engaged in the affair.
Artwork Details
- Title: Comtesse Du Barry de Cérès
- Artist: Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, Paris 1755–1842 Paris)
- Date: 1784
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 36 × 29 in. (91.4 × 73.7 cm)
Frame: 46 × 39 1/4 × 4 in. (116.8 × 99.7 × 10.2 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Toledo Museum of Art, Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey (1963.33)
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings