Abstract:
This thesis examines the portraits of male subjects within the oeuvres of the first concentration of female artists in Europe, centred in Revolutionary France, during the years between 1770 and 1810. Where previously overlooked, or unfairly criticised for their lack of ability in depicting male subjects, this research carries out deeper exploration into the oeuvres of French artistic women. Close visual analysis of the portraits of men painted by Elisabeth Vigée-Le Brun, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, Marguerite Gérard and their female contemporaries, sheds light on the clear talent of self-taught women in depicting masculinity, where they are often seen only through a feminine lens. Despite the rapidly changing Revolutionary climate that characterises this complex period of French history, and the strong gender bias women faced within a strict hierarchy, over sixteen women produced portraits of men from the French upper-classes, including those of the king’s brother, and the new Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. In comparison to both the portraits of men painted by their male contemporaries, and their own portraits of female subjects, women adapted their painterly technique and style to be more ‘masculine,’ when faced with a male sitter. The more men each individual artist was able to paint, the more refined her precisely ‘masculine’ style became. Not only did several female artists enjoy prestigious male patronage, but the comparison between women’s portraits of men before, and after the 1789 Revolution, demonstrates that they were aware of the changing visualisation of masculinity. Moreover, they further adapted their individual painterly techniques to encompass a new masculine ideal. Men’s representation shifted from less glorified and individualistic in the pre-Revolutionary era, to be more egalitarian and virtuous in the post-Revolutionary era, with the onset of the French Republic. Women successfully visualised this shift in their male portraits, in a way that then pleased their patrons, and demonstrates their absolute talent, refinement and adaptability in the art of portraiture.
