Peace Bringing Back Abundance
| Peace Bringing Back Abundance | |
|---|---|
| Artist | Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun |
| Year | 1780 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 103 c×ばつ 133 cm (41 in×ばつ 52 in) |
| Location | Louvre, Paris |
Peace Bringing Back Abundance is a 1780 painting by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun in the collection of the Louvre, in Paris. Le Brun painted the work as her reception piece for admission into the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture.[1] When it was submitted to the Academy in 1783, it was seen as a commentary on the reign of Louis XVI and the signing of a treaty formally ending France's involvement in the American Revolution.[2] : 127
Description
[edit ]The two central figures in the artwork are allegories for Peace and Abundance. Peace appears on the right side of the composition and Abundance on the left. Abundance is partially nude, which indicates her status as an allegorical figure. The art historian Mary Sheriff notes that it was a common practice in the eighteenth century for artists to use the idealized female nude to signify that the figure represents an abstract idea rather than a real person.[2] : 121
The imagery in this artwork carries gendered associations in line with the common visual language of the eighteenth century. Peace has dark hair and clothing, while Abundance has blonde hair and a white dress. Peace's clothing billows up over the composition, while Abundance's drapes down calmly. The flowers and fruits surrounding Abundance associate her with finery and ornamentation that contrasts with the simplicity of Peace's plain depiction. According to Sheriff, the more masculine figure of Peace is guiding and controlling the more feminine Abundance.[2] : 126 Peace's left hand holds Abundance's left wrist while her right hand pushes on Abundance's shoulder. These subtle hand gestures convey this element of guidance and direction. The physical contact between the two women and the naturalism with which they are depicted has led some art historians to assign erotic associations to the work. Sheriff notes that conventional eighteenth century allegorical figures would've been abstracted and expressionless.[2] : 123 In contrast, Peace and Abundance are naturalistic and full of emotion in Le Brun's work. The figures' eye contact and facial expressions communicate a physical and emotional interaction between the two women. Sheriff notes that the masculine Abundance's slight smile mimics the gaze of the feminine Peace, signifying the unbalanced power relations characteristic of typical eighteenth century visual culture and erotica.[2] : 126
While the painting initially appears to follow traditional gendered symbolism, Sheriff argues that Le Brun intentionally disrupts this conventional allegory. She portrays the two figures as dynamic, independent women rather than mere symbolic representations of masculinity and femininity. [2] : 126
References
[edit ]- ^ "Peace Bringing Back Abundance". Metropolitan Museum of Art . 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f Sheriff, Mary D. (1996). The exceptional woman : Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun and the cultural politics of art. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. pp. 121–129. ISBN 978-0-226-75275-4.
