self-portrait at Louvre

Every month, the Louvre chooses a “painting of the month”, which is displayed in Salle 18.

From June through September, the Louvre has chosen a self-portrait by Elisabeth-Sophie Chéron. Summer visitors to Paris: rejoice! This is a rare chance to become acquainted with a remarkable artist.

I must have dozed off in art history class when Chéron was discussed, because I became acquainted with her work years after my college days.

An introduction to Chéron:

  • born 1648, died 1711
  • protestant father, catholic mother; brother Louis, also an artist, settled in England after the revocation on Nantes made life difficult for protestants in France
  • won acclaim as a painter for portraits, including the two self-portraits in this post, done while Chéron was in her 20s
  • admitted into the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture in 1672, when Chéron was in her 30s
  • also a celebrated writer and poet; most of her work had religious or Biblical themes
  • good with languages : French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew
  • for her writings, was inducted into the Accademia dei Ricovrati in Padua, which seems to have had a practice of admitting French women because they would not attend Academy proceedings in person
  • also an accomplished musician
  • married after her childbearing years were over

self-portrait at musée condé, chantilly