Marie Gabrielle Capet — The Time in the Atelier of Madame Vincent (1808)

Marie Gabrielle Capet — The Time in the Atelier of Madame Vincent (1808)

Capet sits in the foreground of a crowded studio scene, looking directly toward the viewer. Unlike the men behind her, who have their bodies turned to the side and their gaze fixed inside the painting, she demonstrates a clear awareness of the viewer's presence, inviting the viewer to observe her surroundings. She holds a brush and a palette in her hands, symbols of her artistic identity. To her side, Adelaide Labille-Guiard, dressed head to toe in white, stands out against the darkly attired men and the muted grey background, making her the center of this art community and emphasizing her professionalism. The verticality of the giant easel forms a triangular arrangement with Labille Guiard, Capet, and Joseph Marie-Vien, bedecked in an official attire of Prussian blue and gold, highlighting their importance. Combined with how Labille-Guiard's giant easel is in the center of the composition, Capet seems to be announcing the female presence in the art sphere with pride (Drouin, 2020), challenging the notion many

held at her time that women artists were mere amateurs (Nochlin, 1971).

Also notable is how she and Labille-Guiard dress. Social conventions of her time demanded that women maintain a graceful and tidy image (Borzello, 2016), even if it conflicted with the nature of their trade. Thus, neither dresses in a manner that is practical or comfortable for them to carry out their profession; they wear the clothes society has imposed upon them. Additionally, the light brown floor is impeccably clean, offering no trace of any artistic labor. As a result, the viewer is provided a glaring glance into the restrictions women artist faced at the time.

Alternatively, as Labille-Guiard is the only person actively engaged in an artistic process, her appearance could also be suggestive of Vien's thoughts and standpoints towards art. From this perspective, Labille-Guiard's flowing white robes could be symbolic of the pure, untainted, and almost sacrosanct quality of art, and by choosing Labille-Guiard as the one to embody these qualities, not only a conveyance of Vien's admiration towards her teacher but also an acknowledgment of Labille-Guiard's significance as a symbolic lead in the art community. Also notable is the interesting interaction and play on composition. The great easel in the center separates the composition into subtly mirroring sides. To the left, the angle of Capet's paintbrush aligns with the angle of the outstretched hand of Rose Céleste Vien, the women in deep, brownish-red robes on the right, forming a diagonal visual line across the composition. In the center of this diagonal line are Labille-Guiard's hands, hard at work on a portrait of the elegantly attired Joseph Marie-Vien before her. By placing Labille-Guiard in the central connecting point and almost acting as the key figure in tying the composition together, Capet could portray

Labille-Guiard's presence as vital in the continuation of artistic tradition. Indeed, Labille-Guiard was the first woman accepted into the Royal Academy and an avid supporter of equal opportunities for female artists to become great painters (Drouin, As the Eye is Formed: Marie-Gabrielle Capet and the Artist in her Studio Emma Rodney Drouin , 2020). Thus, Capet could be emphasizing how Labille-Guiard was an indispensable figure in paving the way for women's engagement in art.

In addition, the mirroring of figures on either side and the arrangement of the figures in close clusters also create an atmosphere of collectiveness, showing Capet's deep respect for this artistic community that nurtured her. Moreover, as the twelve men in the self-portrait are preeminent artists, Capet could also be boosting her position as an artist by highlighting her close association with the prestigious crème de la crème artists of her time.

It is vital to note the status of the women in the painting: Capet and Labille-Guiard are illustrious artists of their time, while Rose Céleste Vien is a specialist in ancient Greek literature (Sofio, 2019). Thus, here we observe three capable and talented women. Hence, the self-portrait could be calling for highly educated women to be respected and bequeathed their rightful voice in refined male-dominated spheres of art and culture.

The depiction of women in this self-portrait is far different from the studio paintings society is accustomed to, such as Courbet's The Painters Studio, where women were portrayed as passive muses to be admired and observed by the male gaze. Here, Capet seems to have masterfully subverted this passive-active relationship, for the esteemed Joseph Marie-Vien, the founder of the Neoclassical school, is transformed into the one being observed by Labille-Guiard within the frame and the viewer outside. A prime example of self-portraits as a channel for allowing women to wield power back in their hands is displayed before the viewer, for presented before us is an exceptional play on the male gaze and a firm assertion of the female one.

Furthermore, following the French revolution, the status of women artists, which were elevated in the second half of the 18th century with many entering male-dominated artistic and cultural spheres, was consigned back to the position of "amateurs." Under this setting, many female artists were motivated to develop active contemporary images of themselves. Hence, with their personal and current nature, self-portraits gained great significance as a means for women artists to express themselves and emphasize their role as creators. As this self-portrait was painted after Labille-Guiard's death, it could have been borne out of Capet's reminiscence of the past. Thus, this self-portrait gains new significance as an artist's reflection and contemplation of the shifting

social and cultural nature of her time and an homage to the artistic community deeply rooted in tradition with which she was intrinsically connected.