Labille-Guiard's Self-Portrait with Two Pupils: A Friendship Reexamined

Adélaïde Labille-Guiard's 1785 Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is analyzed by Yuriko Jackall in an essay published by Afterall. The painting, measuring 210.8 x 151.1 cm, depicts the artist with her pupils Marie-Marguerite Carraux de Rosemond and Marie-Gabrielle Capet. It was exhibited at the Salon du Louvre, securing Labille-Guiard's status among France's elite artists. The work rebutted critics who had disparaged her gender, and it led to a pension from comte d'Angiviller and commissions from the royal family. Despite initial acclaim, the painting was rejected by the Musée du Louvre in 1878 as 'without artistic value,' and Labille-Guiard's reputation declined, partly due to her moderate political stance during the Revolution. The essay highlights the personal significance of the painting: Labille-Guiard chose to keep it rather than sell it to Madame Adélaïde. Carraux de Rosemond, born in 1765, studied with Labille-Guiard by 1783 and died in childbirth in 1788. Capet, born in 1761, became a close friend and surrogate daughter, living with Labille-Guiard and later caring for her in her final illness. Capet's 1808 painting Portrait of the Late Madame Vincent (Studio Scene) responds to Labille-Guiard's work, showing the artist with her husband Vincent and Capet herself holding a palette. The essay draws on scholarship by Laura Auricchio and Séverine Sofio.