Women in Neoclassicism: How the Canvases of Female Neoclassical Artists Defied the Male Gaze

Francois Sablet | Portrait of an Artist drawing after the Antique, 1804

The neoclassicism period had seen the rise of women artists in Europe, mostly in Britain and France, from the late 18^th to mid-19^th century. The art hubs like London and Paris cradled the creative spark, focusing on classical antiquity, often sculpted on highly polished marbles. 

There were some of the great female neoclassical artists like Angelica Kauffman, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Marie-Denise Villers, Marie-Gabrielle Capet, Marie-Guillemine Benoist, who turned their canvases into quiet rebellions in a world dominated by male creators.

What was so special about their artistic expressions? How could they break the barriers long ago? Let’s find out who these phenomenal painters of neoclassicism were, how they entered the Royal Academy of Art, and how they dared to defy the rigid social codes.

During this time, many women painters grabbed the spotlight, for they painted portraits of queens and monarchs. It was quite unusual for the time, and their popularity attracted rivalry from contemporary male artists.

In the previous series, we discussed how some famous neoclassical artists left their undeniable footprints on the European art scene with mind-blowing neoclassical art examples, and here we’re going to focus on the struggles and the triumphs of women creators who secured access to royal academies and salons, popularizing the artistic ideals of the movement. 

They were not only intimate and elegant realistic portraits, these women visionaries also crafted large marble sculptures defying conventional notions of women engaged in physically demanding professions.

Some of the great female neoclassical artists were Angelica Kauffman, the French painters Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Marie-Denise Villers, Marie-Gabrielle Capet, Marie-Guillemine Benoist, and Harriet Goodhue Hosmer, a renowned American sculptor who challenged the grids of creativity for women of her times.

Tales of Triumphs and Testimonials of Feminine Creativity

Let’s look into their lives and achievements and how they came to be known as the torchbearers of a movement that adored the Greek and Roman artistic legacy and moral ethics.

Angelica Kauffman: One of the Founders of the Royal Academy of Arts

“She was perhaps the most cultivated woman in the whole of Europe,” – Johann Gottfried Herder, contemporary philosopher

Angelica was one of the much-talked-about female artists of the neoclassical era, a Swiss-German origin, highly popular painter who showcased her works in London and Rome, and did portraits of esteemed ladies of the monarchy and portraits of various influential figures. She was also famous for her landscape paintings, historical drawings, and mythological scenes. Angelica was one of the women painters to popularize the neoclassicism movement in England while she co-founded the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

Angelica Kauffman had redefined the way elite women became subjects of portrayals, reclaiming them from the male gaze and grip. It was a woman’s take on female portraiture which was bold and assertive, unusual for a conservative era.  

Angelica Kauffman neoclassical paintings include: Self-portraits, Portrait of Winckelmann, Three Singers, Portrait of a Lady as a Vestal Virgin, and more.

Angelica Kauffmann | Portrait of a Woman as a Vestal Virgin, 1780-1785

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun: The Friend of Queen Marie Antoinette

Élisabeth was also a renowned French artist and portraitist, who came from a humble family and rose to prominence through her pathbreaking portrait paintings of royal personalities and iconic self-portraits. It was no bed of roses for her to get access to the royal palace and paint more than 20 portraits of Queen Marie Antoinette, in various postures and costumes. Eventually, this association bonded them closer, thus making Élisabeth the target of the revolutionists.

Her life was no less than fiction – how she started from a modest beginning until she achieved fame and royal patronage, and by her 30s she fled from the French revolutionaries in fear of execution. Her close affiliation to the monarchy and royalist circles made her stay in Paris increasingly challenging during the revolution.

Élisabeth blended the neoclassical ethics with her own distinctive style while creating numerous self-portrait paintings and women figures, which were unmatched in their idealized appeals. No wonder, she was Marie Antoinette’s favorite painter! Considerable portions of her 800 paintings mostly consisted of portraits.

Some of her phenomenal works include: Self-Portrait with Julie, Marie Antoinette and Her Children, Comtesse de la Châtre, Marie Antoinette in Court Dress, Marie-Antoinette en robe de cour, and others.

Marie Antoinette in Court Dress 1778 | Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

Marie-Denise Villers, Marie-Gabrielle Capet, and Marie-Guillemine Benoist

Among the other noted women painters of neoclassicism, there were some prominent French artists like Marie-Denise Villers, Marie-Gabrielle Capet, and Marie-Guillemine Benoist.

The era of 18^th to 19^th-century neoclassical art mostly focused on women’s portraiture, depicting mythical stories and narratives through art, revived as some of the great neoclassical canons in recent times.

• Marie-Denise Villers painted young women portraits elegantly and with utmost charm, as she was mentored by Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson, one of Jacques-Louis David's students. She showed the genius of an artist of Napoleonic France.

  
  

Her renowned works are: Self-portrait by Marie-Denise Villers, Young Woman Drawing – the painting depicting a woman painter in solitude, introspecting on her artistic journey. It earned a great deal of attention and had been a subject of an artist’s self-discovery and denial, a material for contemporary research.

Young Woman Drawing | Marie-Denise Villers

• Marie-Gabrielle Capet, the noted portrait artist of the neoclassical era, was trained under the guidance of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard. She was revered for her intimate and elegant portraits and secured art commissions from various royal personas and nobility. Marie-Gabrielle Capet was one of the few women painters who could exhibit their artworks in the Salon of 1791, just after the French Revolution.

  
  

Among her remarkable portraits are: Self-Portrait, Portrait of the Late Madame Vincent, Houdon travaillant au buste de Voltaire, and many more.

Marie-Gabrielle Capet | Self-Portrait

• Marie-Guillemine Benoist was also trained under the renowned neoclassical artist Jacques Louis David. She was popular for her historical figurative works, genre paintings, and paintings of women from all classes. Being a woman of high society, she could portray women as a powerful source of change. Benoist was one of the celebrated women painters of neoclassicism who are showcased in the Louvre Museum, Paris.

  
  

Her signature portraits include: Portrait of a Negress, Portrait of Elisa Bonaparte, Psyche Bidding Her Family Farewell, and more. In her Portrait of Madeleine, Benoist depicted a black woman to show the increasing power of women during the neoclassical period.

Marie-Guillemine Benoist | Portrait of a Negress

American Sculptor Harriet Goodhue Hosmer: Defying Contemporary Models Preferred for Women Artists

The noted American sculptor Harriet Goodhue Hosmer achieved great success creating large, neoclassical marble sculptures, defying prevailing social norms. Unlike involving herself in delicate portraiture, she created large-scale works of marble like enormous statues that required prowess, insight, and precision. She challenged the notion of conformity by choosing a female partner, a bold move for her times. Harriet Goodhue Hosmer was a female professional sculptor known for her awe-inspiring marble works.

Here are some of her remarkable sculptures: Beatrice Cenci, Clasped Hands of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Puck on a Toadstool, and more.

Clasped Hands of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning | Harriet Goodhue Hosmer

Breaking Barriers: How the Works of Female Neoclassical Artists Echoed through Centuries

Whether through paintbrush or chisel, these extraordinary female artists created enduring legacies to reshape art across time. They never stopped challenging the conventional models of a male-dominated world through their immortal works, be it portrait painting, decorative artworks, depiction of historical and mythological narratives, or robust sculpture — much like musical notes that continue to linger long after the song dies out.

Stay tuned to our next series to know how neoclassicism transformed architecture and interior design ...