Both Alice Neel and Elisabeth Vigeé-Lebrun are very famous female artists. They are known for making well thought out and amazing portraits. The portrait of John Gruen and his family was painted in 1970 and the portrait of Marie Antoinette and her children was painted in 1787. Since the time period is so different, these two portraits have many different qualities because the perception of art has drastically changed, but there still are some similar qualities in terms of form and content.
Regarding form, both portraits are very detailed and contain many lines. Each person in both portraits have major detailed lines throughout their clothing. This depicts how their bodies are shaped and how they stand or sit. Both portraits have shadows, but it is very clear that …show more content…
With all the truthful details of Neel’s portrait The Family, we believe Neel wants us to know the truth about the Gruen family without using any words. With some research I found out that Vigeé-Lebrun’s painting wanted to portray Marie Antoinette in a different way. It is said that Mary Antoinette et ses enfants was painted because the queen wanted her people to see her as a loving mother and not a criminal, after getting in trouble for treason. She includes her three children in the portrait, but then adds an empty crib. Marie Antoinette had a fourth child that had died during the portrait. Mourning her loss, Vigeé-Lebrun decided to add the empty crib to show that there was in fact another child, but it may have also been added in to help Marie Antoinette to gain sympathy. Her hopes were to gain forgiveness from her people, but in the end it was not enough because she was later executed. The fact that Marie Antoinette and Vigeé-Lebrun were previously friends beforehand might have also affected the outcome, but on a positive note, this portrait is very known worldwide and is in the Palace of