Portrait of a lady, by a lady
Norton Simon, the multimillionaire industrialist, had incredible taste. Need proof? Gaze upon his personal art collection housed at the intimate and mighty Norton Simon Museum. Thoughtfully curated paintings and sculptures representing a broad range of artists and eras load the rooms. One example is the portrait of Theresa, Countess Kinsky, by Elisabeth Louise Vigèe Le Brun, best known as the portraitist of Marie Antoinette.
The painting of the 25-year-old countess was made seven years after she was left by her husband of one day, when he returned to his mistress. She wouldn’t remarry until she was in her forties. Kinsky received Le Brun’s royal treatment. She’s richly attired in a deep blue velvet dress, with a diaphanous golden shawl lifted by a gust of wind. Loose curls and a direct gaze suggest a woman self-possessed, much like her portraitist.
Info
Address 411 W Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91105, +1 626.449.6840, www.nortonsimon.org | Getting there Free on-site lot | Hours Mon, Wed & Thu noon–5pm, Fri & Sat 11am–8pm, Sun 11am–5pm, closed Tue. Admission: $12 adults, $9 seniors, kids are free.| Tip Explore another one of Pasadena’s hidden gems, and take a tour of the historic Gamble House (4 Westmoreland Place Pasadena, CA 91103, www.gamblehouse.org), designed by the expert Craftsman-style architects Greene and Greene.
Vigèe Le Brun showed early prowess as an artist. Her father taught her to paint, but he died when she was only 12, and she was left without a mentor. Taken under the wing of two artist friends of the family, her casual education continued.
At 22, she was called to the palace to paint Marie Antoinette. She went on to immortalize the ill-fated queen on canvas about 30 times. The king of France requested her admittance into the prestigious Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, and, at 28, she was one of only four women accepted.
Le Brun painted the portrait of Countess Kinsky while self-exiled in Vienna in 1793, four years into the French Revolution, during the bloody Reign of Terror. That’s the year Marie Antoinette, the most loyal supporter of her work, was executed. Fearing persecution herself, Le Brun had fled France with her nine-year-old daughter shortly after the revolution began. She went on to travel the world for 12 years, creating portraits of world luminaries.
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