Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) and Marie Marguerite Carraux de Rosemond (1765–1788)

Portraitist and miniature painter Adélaïde Labille-Guiard was a French royal court painter, and the first woman painter granted studio space to train students at the Louvre. Here, she paints herself as a confident expert painter at work, flanked by two of her students. Labille-Guiarder's lustrous handling of the gleaming wood floor, her own shining silk dress, and the translucent tulle accents on her student’s dress show off her virtuosity. Indeed, the artist’s bold look at the viewer seems to communicate a confident challenge.

Painting