Self Portrait in a Straw Hat
- Artist: Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
- Date: 1782
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the Self Portrait in a Straw Hat by Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun. Painted in 1782, it's a signed copy of one of her very popular self-portraits, which was also exhibited at the Salon de la Correspondance in Paris that same year.
Vigée Le Brun deliberately modeled this pose on Rubens's Portrait of Susanna Lunden, which she had studied and copied during her time in Antwerp. She wanted to replicate the contrasting light effects in Rubens's portrait by combining ordinary daylight with direct sunlight.
In this painting, Vigée Le Brun presents herself as an elegant society lady and an accomplished professional artist. She looks directly at us with an open expression, holding a palette and brushes, and wearing a plain straw hat decorated with fresh flowers and a white ostrich feather.
The National Gallery's version of the self-portrait is actually a copy made by Vigée Le Brun herself, which presents a more assertive and self-assured image than the original. There are some minor but significant differences between the two paintings, including changes to her face and the color of her dress.
Vigée Le Brun was an incredibly successful society portraitist during this time period, especially at the Versailles court, where she painted over 30 portraits of Queen Marie-Antoinette and her family. Her talent and artistry clearly shine through in this painting.
See it in person
Self Portrait in a Straw Hat hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
