Madame Rousseau et sa fille.
Louise Vigee-Le Brun, 1789.
Museum of the Louvre

Copy of Madame
Rousseau et sa fille by
Louise Vigee-Le Brun.

Copy of Madame Rousseau et sa fille by Louise Vigee-Le Brun in progress, 1995. Galerie Sully, Museum of the Louvre, Paris.

Let me say a few things about my experience of painting in the Louvre in Paris for two months. The Palace of the Louvre dates as far back in history as the Roman Empire. Its original structure was built on a part of Paris which was a roman stronghold. Then a medieval fortress was built there. That fortress was destroyed to make way for the first construction of the existing museum. Francois I rebuilt the infrastructure of today's edifice which became a museum after the French Revolution. The museum houses the world's most prestigious works of art from antiquity to the nineteenth century. It has undergone major renovations since the Renaissance. The Louvre has played a major role in the education of artists and art historians. Since the formation of the Academy of Fine Arts under Louis XIV, artists have been able to study the history of art at the famous Ecole du Louvre. Qualified painters and sculptors can study specific works through the exercise of direct copy in the museum galleries.

It was under these circumstances that I copied a painting by Madame LeBrun who was the portraitist to Marie Antoinette (the one who lost her head during the French Revolution). This is the painting which figures in "The Lodge of Many Moons". It is the portrait of a lady of the court and her child. I chose this particular painting to copy mainly because it was a mother and child which I found to be particularly beautiful. I loved the folds of cloth and the rich red tones of the mother's dress. Red is a very difficult color to manage because it is so very dominating of other tones. It was therefore an excellent exercise for me as a painter.

The gallery in which this painting was located was very well lighted although the system was on some kind of computerized switch off when the outside light reached a certain level. This change in lights from artificial to natural could cause some annoying changes in color and tone values. But I finally managed to finish the colors harmoniously. I worked from 9am to 1pm Mondays through Fridays. Wednesday was not possible because French schools are closed that day and the museums overflow with visitors. The museum bureau of copy provided us with an easel and storage space while we worked. We could not exit our works until completion.

This was the most incredibly passionate work I've ever done. I often fantasize spending the rest of my life doing this. I became utterly absorbed in my painting. I was, however, too often interrupted by curious tourists who seemed to think that I was there as an added attraction to answer their questions and be taken in photo. I can't begin to describe what it's like to be lost in the right brain only to have a group of Japanese visitors chattering loudly and crowding around me in a circle to see what I was doing. Once I brought my own camera and took a picture of a very surprised group of Japanese tourists myself. I turned around to face them when some of them asked me to pose for a picture along side my painting. Click and surprise. Sweet revenge! Unfortunately the peace of mind was short lived as other tourists flowed in only to start the annoying distractions all over.

- Martha Hollingsworth, 1998