Here are two works by Elisabeth Vigée Lebrun which have come on the art market in recent years.
1. Drawing of the Dauphin Louis-Charles, 1789 (?)
The first is this stunningly beautiful drawing auctioned by Sotheby's in July 2007. [Sold for £21,600 against an estimate of £10-15,000].
Old Master Drawings
Sotheby's, London
Date of the auction: 04.07.2007
Lot 286.
Black and Red chalk and graphite
15 cm x 9.5 cm
Dauphin, Later Louis XVII - 1789
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2007/old-master-drawings-l07040/lot.136.html
The auction catalogue note attributed the portrait to Augustin Saint-Aubin, on the grounds that it is similar in technique to works such as his Portrait of a Woman, sold by Christie's in Paris, 21 March 2002, lot 286. More recently it has become accepted as the work of Vigée Lebrun - notably on the authoritative EVB website maintained by Kevin Kelly, Charles Stein and their team. See The Art of Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun [website]: Drawings, 1789.
https://www.batguano.com/vigeedrawings.html#N
The identity of the sitter is even more problematic. The catalogue note says the picture is "traditionally described" as a portrait of Louis-Charles, the future Louis XVII, and this seems generally accepted. However, it seems more likely that it represents his elder brother, the dauphin Louis-Joseph?
If the drawing is indeed by Vigée Lebrun, the dates certainly fit better. The likely date for the portrait would have to be 1786-87 rather than 1789; according to her memoirs, EVB had a final sitting with Marie-Antoinette for the famous portrait of the Queen with her children, which was exhibited in the Salon of 1787, and at the same time made preparatory studies of the dauphin, Madame-Royale and the duc de Normandie. Louis-Charles is still a toddler in this picture. Even in portraits dating from 1789 he still has his characteristic long red hair (see below).
Here are the other know EVB portraits of Louis-Joseph for comparison:
Madame Royale and the Dauphin Louis Joseph, painted in 1784
http://collections.chateauversailles.fr/#54002289-e8ed-4006-8d1e-8f1a264d5473
Notice on The Art of EVB website: 1784 "Madame Royale and the Dauphin Louis Joseph," oil on canvas, 45 1/2" x 37 1/8" (115.5 x 94.3 cm), signed and dated lower right: L. Le Brun. f. 1784. Musée National du Château de Versailles. Chicago Art Institute Quarterly, 56:46, Autumn 1962; L’Oeil, Mar 1981, p. 40 (color); Baillio (1982), p. 50 (b&w); L’Oeil, 392:17, Mar 1988; Baillio (2015), p. 157 (color); Baillio (2016), p. 100 (color). Marie Thérèse Charlotte, Mme Royale, later the Duchesse d’Angoulême, 1778-1851; and the first Dauphin Louis-Joseph-Xavier-François, 1781-89. See the Baillio (1982) description.
Notice on The Art of EVB website:
1787 "Queen Marie Antoinette and Her Children," 108 1/4" x 85 1/4" (275 x 216.5 cm), signed and dated lower left: L Vigée. Le Brun. 1787. Musée National du Château de Versailles. Antiques, Nov 1967, p. 710 (b&w); Baillio (1982), p. 80 (b&w); Baillio (2015), p. 159 (color); Baillio (2016), p. 120 (color); Iwona Danielewicz, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun and Poles (2016), p. 24 (color). {"1 Large painting of Queen Marie-Antoinette and her children."} {"I painted her head for the large canvas … as well as separate studies for the Premier Dauphin, the Madame Royale and the Duc de normandie." - Letter V; "It showed Marie Antoinette with the first Dauphin and Madame by her side and the Duc de Normandie on her knee." - Chap. XXXIV} [Referenced in Baillio (1982) as exhibited in 1787 at the Salon de l’Académie Royale, and also at the Salon of 1817.] [The empty cradle is a reference to Princess Sophie, who was born and died in 1786.]
Note
I emailed Charles Stein who kindly send me the following additional comments:
I don't remember who came up with the attribution to Vigee LeBrun. It is certainly harder to evaluate drawings than pastels or paintings. But I am inclined to believe Sothebys that it is not a work by Vigee LeBrun. I asked my colleagues on this project, and Kevin Kelly is inclined to think the same. Also Lucia Cardellini thinks that Vigee LeBrun would have softened the facial traits more.
None of us have an opinion on the identity of the sitter.
2. Portrait of the duc of Normandie, the future Louis XVII and his dog Moufflet, about 1789
Black and Red chalk and graphite
15 cm x 9.5 cm
Dauphin, Later Louis XVII - 1789
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2007/old-master-drawings-l07040/lot.136.html
The auction catalogue note attributed the portrait to Augustin Saint-Aubin, on the grounds that it is similar in technique to works such as his Portrait of a Woman, sold by Christie's in Paris, 21 March 2002, lot 286. More recently it has become accepted as the work of Vigée Lebrun - notably on the authoritative EVB website maintained by Kevin Kelly, Charles Stein and their team. See The Art of Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun [website]: Drawings, 1789.
https://www.batguano.com/vigeedrawings.html#N
The identity of the sitter is even more problematic. The catalogue note says the picture is "traditionally described" as a portrait of Louis-Charles, the future Louis XVII, and this seems generally accepted. However, it seems more likely that it represents his elder brother, the dauphin Louis-Joseph?
If the drawing is indeed by Vigée Lebrun, the dates certainly fit better. The likely date for the portrait would have to be 1786-87 rather than 1789; according to her memoirs, EVB had a final sitting with Marie-Antoinette for the famous portrait of the Queen with her children, which was exhibited in the Salon of 1787, and at the same time made preparatory studies of the dauphin, Madame-Royale and the duc de Normandie. Louis-Charles is still a toddler in this picture. Even in portraits dating from 1789 he still has his characteristic long red hair (see below).
Here are the other know EVB portraits of Louis-Joseph for comparison:
Madame Royale and the Dauphin Louis Joseph, painted in 1784
http://collections.chateauversailles.fr/#54002289-e8ed-4006-8d1e-8f1a264d5473
Notice on The Art of EVB website: 1784 "Madame Royale and the Dauphin Louis Joseph," oil on canvas, 45 1/2" x 37 1/8" (115.5 x 94.3 cm), signed and dated lower right: L. Le Brun. f. 1784. Musée National du Château de Versailles. Chicago Art Institute Quarterly, 56:46, Autumn 1962; L’Oeil, Mar 1981, p. 40 (color); Baillio (1982), p. 50 (b&w); L’Oeil, 392:17, Mar 1988; Baillio (2015), p. 157 (color); Baillio (2016), p. 100 (color). Marie Thérèse Charlotte, Mme Royale, later the Duchesse d’Angoulême, 1778-1851; and the first Dauphin Louis-Joseph-Xavier-François, 1781-89. See the Baillio (1982) description.
 |
| Study of 1784, Current whereabouts unknown(?) https://www.batguano.com/xavier.jpg |
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| Detail from Marie-Antoinette and her children, 1787 http://collections.chateauversailles.fr/#ac94af31-979e-4f0e-8582-ad5d0f1f3817 |
Notice on The Art of EVB website:
1787 "Queen Marie Antoinette and Her Children," 108 1/4" x 85 1/4" (275 x 216.5 cm), signed and dated lower left: L Vigée. Le Brun. 1787. Musée National du Château de Versailles. Antiques, Nov 1967, p. 710 (b&w); Baillio (1982), p. 80 (b&w); Baillio (2015), p. 159 (color); Baillio (2016), p. 120 (color); Iwona Danielewicz, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun and Poles (2016), p. 24 (color). {"1 Large painting of Queen Marie-Antoinette and her children."} {"I painted her head for the large canvas … as well as separate studies for the Premier Dauphin, the Madame Royale and the Duc de normandie." - Letter V; "It showed Marie Antoinette with the first Dauphin and Madame by her side and the Duc de Normandie on her knee." - Chap. XXXIV} [Referenced in Baillio (1982) as exhibited in 1787 at the Salon de l’Académie Royale, and also at the Salon of 1817.] [The empty cradle is a reference to Princess Sophie, who was born and died in 1786.]
Note
I emailed Charles Stein who kindly send me the following additional comments:
I don't remember who came up with the attribution to Vigee LeBrun. It is certainly harder to evaluate drawings than pastels or paintings. But I am inclined to believe Sothebys that it is not a work by Vigee LeBrun. I asked my colleagues on this project, and Kevin Kelly is inclined to think the same. Also Lucia Cardellini thinks that Vigee LeBrun would have softened the facial traits more.
None of us have an opinion on the identity of the sitter.
2. Portrait of the duc of Normandie, the future Louis XVII and his dog Moufflet, about 1789
Oil on canvas 60.5cm x 50 cm
Entry on the Pierre Brost website, with commentary by Joseph Baillio.
http://art-courtage.com/fr/accueil/29-le-duc-de-normandie-avec-son-chien.html
It previously belonged to the Alain Bancel collection auctioned in 2003.
The picture is the only known surviving studio copy of "one of the most famous portraits of Louis XVII". The original was exhibited in the Salon of 1789, then placed in the room of Madame Elisabeth at Saint-Cloud, where it was burned and destroyed in 1794 by representatives of the Committee of General Security.
The scene represents Louis-Charles in 1789 when he became dauphin on the death of his elder brother (4th June 1789).
According to Caroline Girard in the Tribune de l'Art:
It depicts the touching figure of a little boy with a open expression, seated on a vine stock and holding a bunch of grapes. He holds close to him his brother's dog Moufflet, which was given to him when he became dauphin. As well as the "naturalism" characteristic of Vigée-Lebrun, the picture expresses the qualities expected of a future monarch. The vine, the Biblical tree of life, only grows thanks to the care of the winegrower, and is the symbol of evolution, transcendence of self, the wine which changes into the blood of Christ. The dog is a symbol of fidelity. The landscape which opens behind the two companions promises a flourishing future for the young Louis-Charles; nothing yet hints at his tragic destiny.
Article of 03.06.2019. Quoted on Amis de Louis XX, Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/AmisdeLouisXX/photos/le-ch%C3%A2teau-de-versailles-ach%C3%A8te-un-portrait-de-louis-xviile-futur-louis-xvii-et-/2437749829601739/
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