Editing Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (section)

==== Russia ====
[[File:Alexandra and Elena Pavlovna of Russia by E.Vigee-Lebrun (1796, Hermitage).jpg|thumb|230px|''Alexandra and Elena Pavlovna'', 1795–1797, [[Hermitage Museum]].]]
[[File:Elizaveta Alexeevna with roses by Vigee-Le Brun (1795, Hermitage).jpg|thumb|230px|''Grand Duchess [[Elizabeth Alexeievna (Louise of Baden)|Elizabeth Alexeievna]] with Roses'', 1795, [[Hermitage Museum]].]]

In Russia, where she stayed from 1795 until 1801, she was well-received by the nobility and painted numerous aristocrats, including the former King of Poland, [[Stanisław August Poniatowski]], whom she became well acquainted with, and other members of the family of [[Catherine II of Russia|Catherine the Great]].<ref name=Nikolenko>{{Cite journal |title=The Russian Portraits of Madame Vigée-Lebrun |last=Nikolenko |first=Lada |journal=Gazette des Beaux-Arts |volume=70 |date=1967 |pages=93–120}}</ref> Vigée Le Brun painted Catherine's granddaughters (daughters of [[Paul I of Russia]]), [[Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia|Elena]] and [[Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia|Alexandra Pavlovna]], in Grecian tunics with exposed arms. The Empress's favorite, [[Platon Zubov]], commented to Vigée Le Brun that the painting had scandalized the Empress due to the amount of bare skin the short sleeves revealed. Vigée Le Brun was greatly worried by this and considered it a hurtful remark and replaced the tunics with the muslin dresses the princesses wore, and added long sleeves (called Amadis in Russia). Vigée Le Brun was later reassured in a conversation with Catherine that she made no such remark, but by then the damage had already been done. When Paul later became Emperor, he expressed having been upset with the alterations Vigée Le Brun made to the painting. When Vigée Le Brun told him what Zubov told her, he shrugged and said "They played a joke on you". Vigée Le Brun painted many other people during her stay in Russia, including the emperor Paul and his consort.

Catherine herself also agreed to sit for Vigée Le Brun, but she died the very next day, which was when she had promised to sit for the artist.<ref name="GitaMay" /> While in Russia, Vigée Le Brun was made a member of the Academy of Fine Arts of Saint Petersburg.<ref name="OxfordArt" /> Much to her dismay, her daughter Julie married Gaétan Bernard Nigris, secretary to the Director of the [[Imperial Theaters of Saint Petersburg]].<ref name="Baillio" /> Vigée Le Brun attempted everything in her power to prevent this match, and viewed it as a scheme concocted by her enemies and her governess to separate her from her daughter. However, as Julie's remonstrations and pressure on her mother grew, Vigée Le Brun relented and gave her approval for the wedding, though she was greatly distressed at the prospect, and soon found her stay in Russia, hitherto so enjoyable, had become suffocating and decided to return to Paris. She wrote:
{{Blockquote|text=As for myself, all the charm of my life seemed to have disappeared forever. I could not find the same pleasure in loving my daughter, and yet God knows how much I still love her, despite her faults. Only mothers will understand me when I say this. Shortly after her marriage, she caught smallpox. Although I had never had this dreadful illness, no-one could stop me from running to her bedside. I found her face so swollen that I was seized with fright, but I was only frightened for her sake; as long as the malady lasted, I did not think of myself for one moment. To my joy, she recovered without the least disfigurement. I needed to travel. I needed to leave Saint Petersburg, where I had suffered so much that my health had deteriorated. However, those cruel remarks that had arisen as a result of this affair were soon retracted after the marriage. The men who had offended me the most were sorry indeed at the injustice.|title=Souvenirs De Madame Vigée Le Brun|source=Page 213}}

Before departing for France, Vigée Le Brun decided to visit [[Moscow]]. Halfway through her journey to the city, news of the assassination of Paul I reached her. The journey was extremely difficult due to the melting snow, and the carriage often got stuck in the infamous [[Rasputitsa|Russian mud]], and her journey was further delayed when most horses were taken by couriers spreading the news of the death of Paul and the coronation of Alexander. Vigée Le Brun enjoyed her stay in Moscow, and painted many portraits during her stay. Upon her return to [[Saint Petersburg]], she met the newly crowned [[Alexander I of Russia|Emperor Alexander I]] and [[Elizabeth Alexeievna (Louise of Baden)|Empress Louise]], who urged her to stay in Saint Petersburg. Upon telling the Emperor of her poor health and prescription by a physician to take the waters near Karlsbad to cure her internal obstruction, the Emperor replied "Do not go there, there is no need to go so far to find a remedy; I shall give you the Empress's horse, a few rides will have you cured". Vigée Le Brun was touched by this, but replied to the Emperor that she did not know how to ride, to which the Emperor said "Well, I will give you a riding instructor, he will teach you". The artist was still adamant about leaving Russia, despite her closest friends, the Count [[Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov]], [[Charles François de Riffardeau, marquis de Rivière|M. de Rivière]] and the princesses [[Dolgoruky]] and [[Princess Natalia Ivanovna Kurakina|Kourakina]] and others attempting all they could to make her stay in Saint Petersburg, she left after residing there for six years. Julie predeceased her mother in 1819, by which time they had reconciled.<ref name="Memoirs" />

It was in Russia that Vigée Le Brun formed several of her longest lasting and most intimate friendships, with the Princesses Dolgoruky and Kourakin, and the Count Stroganov.