Marie Victoire Lemoine (French, 1754 – 1820)

Portrait of a Youth in an Embroidered Vest

Oil on canvas
25 ⅝ x 21 ½ in.
Purchased with funds from the Cummer Council
AP.1994.3.1

At a time when the artistic education of females was limited by their exclusion from studies of nude models, Marie Victoire Lemoine (1754 – 1820) concentrated on the production of finely detailed portraits, miniatures, and genre subjects. She was born to a middle-class family in Paris and had three sisters, two of whom became professional artists. Though her sisters married, Marie Victoire concentrated on her career and remained single throughout her lifetime. She exhibited at the Salon of the French Academy between 1796 and 1814.

Although the youthful subject of this portrait is unknown, it is clear that Lemoine created a vivid lik eness of this youth, whose elegant satin attire and embroidered vest indicate his connection with a noble family.