Editing Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (section)

==== Austria ====
[[File:Portrait_of_Princess_Maria_Josefa_Hermenegilde_von_Esterhazy_(1793)_Le_Brun.jpg|thumb|''Princess von Esterhazy as Ariadne'', 1793, Princely Collections, [[House of Liechtenstein]].]]

As well as the Countess Bistri and her husband she travelled to Vienna with two other French refugees of poorer origin whom they had taken on. The artist found their company priceless and lodged herself with them in Vienna, with some difficulty in procuring residence due to the travelling party's composition. This would be the beginning of two and a half years of her residency in Austria. Upon lodging herself there, she finished her painting of the countess Bistri, praising her as a "truly beautiful woman", then she presented herself to the Countess [[Maria Wilhelmine von Thun und Hohenstein]], armed with letters of introduction given to her by Count Wilsheck. The artist found a large number of elegant ladies in the countess' salon, and while there, met the [[Theresia of Dietrichstein|Countess Kinska]], of whom Vigée Le Brun was completely enraptured with her beauty. Vigée Le Brun proceeded to tour the city's galleries as was her custom when visiting new cities. She first paid a visit to the gallery of the famous painter of battles, [[Francesco Giuseppe Casanova]]. She found him in the middle of undertaking several paintings, and found him to be quite active despite being about sixty and "having the habit of wearing two or three spectacles, atop one another", and commented on his "unusual and sharp mind" and his rich imagination when retelling stories or recounting past events during the dinners they had spent with the [[Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg|Prince Kaunitz]]. Vigée Le Brun praised his composition, though commented that numerous of his works that she witnessed were still not finished.

After meeting Casanova, she presented herself to the aging [[Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg|Prince Kaunitz]], at his palace. She found dinners hosted by the prince to be uncomfortable due to the late time in which he dined and the large number of people often present at his table and subsequently decided to dine at home most days. On days when she would accept his invitations, she would dine at home before leaving and ate very little at his table. The prince noticed this and was offended by this and her frequent refusal of his invitations, leading to a short quarrel between the two, but they were soon reconciled. The Prince continued to host the artist and exhibited her ''Sibyl'' in his gallery, and she praised the kindness and sweetness he had extended her during her stay. When the Prince died shortly after, Vigée Le Brun was upset by the indifference the city's residents and aristocracy showed, and was further shocked when she visited the wax museum and found the Prince lying in state, his hair and clothes dressed exactly as they had always been. This sight had made a sorrowful impression on her.

While in Vienna, Vigée Le Brun was commissioned to paint Princess [[Maria Josepha Hermengilde Esterházy]] as [[Ariadne]] and Princess [[Karoline von Manderscheid-Blankenheim|Karoline von Liechtenstein]] as [[Iris (mythology)|Iris]] among many others, the latter portrait causing a minor scandal among the Princess's relatives.<ref name="Baumstark">{{Cite book |title=Masterpieces from the Collection of the Princes of Liechtenstein |last=Baumstark |first=Reinhold |translator=Robert Erich Wolfe |publisher=Artemis Verlag |location=Zürich |date=1981 |pages=312–313}}</ref> The portraits depict the Liechtenstein sisters-in-law in unornamented Roman-inspired garments that show the influence of [[Neoclassicism]], and which may have been a reference to the virtuous republican Roman matron [[Cornelia Africana|Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi]].<ref name="Baumstark" /> The artist met for the second time in Vienna one of her greatest friends, the [[Charles-Joseph, 7th Prince of Ligne|Prince de Ligne]], whom she had first met in Brussels in 1781. It was at his urging that Vigée Le Brun wished so much to meet the Russian sovereign [[Catherine the Great]] and to visit Russia. The Prince de Ligne urged her to stay at his former convent atop [[Kahlenberg]], with its commanding view of the countryside, to which she agreed. During Vigée Le Brun's stay in Kahlenberg, de Ligne wrote a passionate poem about her. After two and half years in Vienna, the artist departed for Saint Petersburg on 19 April 1795, via [[Prague]]. She also visited Dresden on her way, and the [[Königsberg]] fortress, where she made the acquaintance of [[Prince Henry of Prussia (1726–1802)|Prince Henry of Prussia]], who was very hospitable to the artist. While visiting [[Dresden]] on her way to [[Russia]], Vigée Le Brun visited the famous Dresden gallery, writing that it was without doubt the most extensive one in all of Europe. It was there that she saw Raphael's ''[[Sistine Madonna|Madonna di San Sisto]].'' She was completely enamored of the painting, and wrote:
{{Blockquote|text=Suffice to say I came to the conclusion that Raphael is the greatest master of them all. I had just visited several rooms within the gallery when I found myself standing in front of a painting which aroused in me an admiration far more intense than that normally inspired by the art of painting. It showed the Virgin, sitting among the clouds. holding the infant Jesus in her arms. Her face is so beautiful and so noble that it is worthy of the divine brush that painted it. The face of the child, which is charming, bears an expression both innocent and celestial; the robes are accurately drawn and painted in the most magnificent colours. To the right of the Virgin stands a saint who seems quite real; his hands in particular merit admiration. To the left stands a young saint, her head bowed, watching two angels at the base of the painting. Her figure is full of beauty, candour and modesty. The two small angels lean upon their hands, their eyes lifted to the characters above them, and their heads bear an ingenuity and sensitivity that words alone cannot express. Having stood for some time gazing in awe at this painting, I had to pass it yet again on my way out, returning by the same route. The best paintings by the great masters had lost some of their perfection in my eyes, for I carried the image of that wonderful composition and that divine figure of the Virgin about with me! In Art nothing can compete with noble simplicity, and all the faces I viewed subsequently seemed to wear a sort of grimace.|author=Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun|title=Memoirs}}