Le Brun's Afterimage

This song was inspired by the life of Vigée Le Brun, an eighteenth-century French female portrait painter. She is known for painting many portraits of Marie Antoinette, and at a time when women had very few opportunities to be publicly recognized as artists, she became a member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in France. Vigée Le Brun portrayed the queen not only as a brilliant symbol of power, but also as a mother and as a woman. Eventually, the French Revolution broke out, and the world around her changed completely. Even after leaving France, however, she continued to paint portraits across Europe and further strengthened her reputation as an artist. Although she stood close to the splendor of the court, I feel that she found her true value not in belonging to that world, but in living as a painter. Even as times and places changed, that sense of purpose kept her painting.