Rating and value of works, drawings and paintings by Élizabeth Vigée Le Brun

If you own a work by or after the artist Elizabeth Vigée le Brun and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers can offer you their expertise.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its value on today's market. Then, if you wish to sell your work, we'll guide you towards the best possible means of obtaining the best possible price.

Rating and artist's value Elizabeth Vigée le Brun

Elizabeth Vigée le Brun is a major artist of 19th-century painting. Today, prices for her works are rising under auctioneers' gavels.

His oils on canvas are particularly prized, especially by French buyers, and the price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €70 to €5,340,820, a considerable delta but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to the artist's works.

In 2019, an oil on canvas entitled Portrait de Mohammed Dervish Khan, sold for €250,000, whereas it was estimated at between €100,000 and €150,000. Its value is on the rise.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Style and technique of the artist Élizabeth Vigée le Brun

Elizabeth Vigée le Brun spent her entire career as a portrait painter. She employed the academic canons of this pictorial genre, mainly using drawing and oil on canvas as a support.

She worked on her canvases with a very high degree of precision, paying close attention to detail. Vigée le Brun worked mainly with noblewomen, paying particular attention to the realism of their faces and outfits.

Characterized by sophisticatedly dressed women in their thirties and forties, Elizabeth Vigée le Brun often depicts women in their role as mothers, with soft brushwork and meticulous features.

Élizabeth Vigée le Brun, royal portraitist

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842) was a famous French painter of the Neoclassical period, renowned for her elegant portraits and exceptional artistic talent. Born in Paris, she showed her artistic gift from an early age and was encouraged by her family to pursue a career in painting.

She showed her first talent at the Trinité convent, where she boarded in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Her father immediately recognized her talent and, being an artist himself, had no reservations about her becoming a painter.

He died when she was just twelve, so she learned to paint from Gabriel-François Doyen, who produced mainly history paintings. He introduced her to Gabriel Briard, a member of the Académie royale de peinture.

As a student in Briard's studio, she developed her talent and began to be recognized by her peers. She also met Joseph Vernet, who gave her a great deal of advice, supported by Jean-Baptiste Greuze.

At the age of 19, she became a member of theAcadémie de Saint-Luc in Paris, which was remarkable for a woman at the time, even though her father, pastellist Louis Vigée, was a member.

The artist preferred this choice to entering the Académie Royale de peinture et de sculpture, which at the time was governed by too many norms governing women's access to this status. Nonetheless, she became a recognized painter, appreciated by her male colleagues.

Nevertheless, her talent opened the doors to public sessions at the Académie. At the same time, after moving to Paris, she met Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Lebrun, a merchant and restorer, whom she decided to marry to free herself from her family. This is how she came to be known as Élizabeth Vigée le Brun.

She quickly gained a reputation as a talented portraitist, and her clientele included many of France's nobility and high society.

In particular, she painted the portrait of Baron Antoine-Jean Grosat the age of seven, and opened an academy where she taught painting to young pupils.

On the strength of her success and ever-increasing number of commissions, she was admitted to the Académie de peinture et de sculpture in 1783, despite her husband's profession and the opposition of some to her being a woman. Adélaïde Labille-Guiard was admitted at the same time.

Her portraits were characterized by their realism, delicacy and sensitivity, establishing a marked contrast with the more rigid, formal style prevalent at the time. She also produced several remarkable self-portraits.

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun was a highly successful professional, but her career was interrupted by the French Revolution, as was Anne Vallayer-Coster.

She nevertheless succeeded in painting for the French Court, the Viennese Emperor's Court, the Russian Emperor and the Restoration.

In 1789, she left France in exile to avoid the political turmoil, traveling throughout Europe to continue painting portraits of high society, including royalty, including as the official portraitist of the Kingdom of Naples.

She eventually lived in Russia for several years under the protection of the imperial family.

After the Revolution, she returned to France in 1802 and continued her successful artistic career. She died in Paris at the age of 86, having painted many portraits and trained new artists.

Élizabeth Vigée Le Brun's standing on the auction market

Royal portraitist Élizabeth Vigée Le Brun made art history thanks to her talent for capturing the grace and elegance of her subjects.

Queen Marie-Antoinette's official portraitist, she was born in Paris in 1755 and was one of the few women of her time to make her mark in a male-dominated environment.

Vigée Le Brun's creations are distinguished by their remarkable technical finesse, their delicate expression of faces and their mastery of light, which highlights the beauty of her models.

Thanks to his talent and social reputation, he was able to attract a prestigious clientele, and his paintings were already highly prized during his lifetime.

Today, the importance of Élizabeth Vigée Le Brun's works testifies not only to their rarity, but also to their importance in the past. The artist's portraits have become emblems of Ancien Régime elegance, increasing their financial value.

His paintings are regularly sold at auction for prices ranging from several hundred thousand to several million euros, depending on size, quality and origin. The price of a portrait of Queen Marie-Antoinette, for example, can easily exceed the highest expectations.

The value of Vigée Le Brun's works is also underpinned by their place in art history. Her style, which combines realism and idealization, has influenced many artists and continues to fascinate collectors and art historians.

Museums the world over are seeking to acquire his paintings, further enhancing their prestige. In addition, retrospectives devoted to his work, such as those organized at the Grand Palais in Paris and the National Gallery in London, have helped to revive interest in his work, increasing demand and, consequently, the value of his works. 

In short, the works of Élizabeth Vigée Le Brun, with their regal aura and sublime technique, occupy a prime position on the art market. Their value continues to grow, driven by the enduring admiration for an artist who captured the spirit of her age with rare sensitivity and unrivalled virtuosity.

Élizabeth Vigée le Brun's imprint on her period

The artist continued to paint well into old age, leaving a lasting legacy in the art world. Today, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun is recognized as one of the most important artists of her time, having paved the way for women in painting and contributed to the evolution of 18th-century French portraiture.

Recognizing the artist's signature

Vigée le Brun often signs her name at the bottom of her drawings or oil paintings. Copies may exist, which is why expert appraisal is important.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own a work by or after Elizabeth Vigée le Brun, don't hesitate to ask for a free valuation using the form on our website.

A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your work, as well as any relevant information about it.

If you're thinking of selling your work of art, our specialists will also be on hand to help you find alternatives for selling it at the best possible price, taking market trends into account.