GUEST WORK

ELISABETH LOUISE VIGÉE LE BRUN

"Portrait of Anne Catherine Le Preudhomme, Countess of Verdun"

NOVO BANCO collection

It was probably in 1782 when Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, one of the most interesting French painters of the second half of the 18th century, painted this portrait of her best friend, Anne Catherine Le Preudhomme, Countess of Verdun.

From the Ancien Régime to the beginning of the industrial era, the work of Vigée Le Brun is characterised by a serenity and consistency that doesn't show any trace of her turbulent life. In her vast collection of portraits, she achieves a synthesis of natural expression, the moment and the pose, immortalising a sense of tranquillity that suspend her subjects in time, portraying them in a very personal way, as if they existed outside of the turmoil of the world in which they live. Belonging to the NOVO BANCO collection, this Guest Work will then be on display in the MNAA, thanks to a long-term loan to the Museum.