French portraitist Marie Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun (or Madame Lebrun) was so popular among her contemporaries that from the age of 15 she could provide for herself and support her widowed mother and younger brother with the money received from orders. The artist has always portrayed her clients in winning poses and elegant outfits, thanks to which (in addition to her talent as a painter) she was loved among the French aristocracy.
In 1779, Madame Lebrun painted one of the first portraits of a young Marie-Antoinette. She later became one of the Queen’s closest artists and created a total of about 30 of her portraits. Forced to leave France during the revolution, Marie Lebrun traveled extensively and spent six years in Russia, where she met Empress Catherine II. The artist, however, did not manage to write her portrait – the empress died even before the start of the order.