The Interior of an Atelier of a Woman Painter

The most important exhibitions in eighteenth-century Paris were the Salons, in general held every other year, and open only to artists associated with the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. After the French Revolution the Académie was abolished, and meanwhile the Salon of 1791 was open to all contenders. This canvas, which is dated 1789, is by Marie Victoire Lemoine, one of many women artists who later emerged into public view. It is identified quite certainly with a painting she exhibited in 1796, and accordingly the title is drawn from the hand list for the exhibition. (Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art)