Juno Borrowing the Belt of Venus

The Academie royale in Paris admitted women only by exception, four at any one time, and it ranked mythological and religious subjects far above portraiture. Vigee Le Brun made her living from portraits, so around 1781 she painted three mythologies to show she could work in the higher kind. The comte d'Artois, youngest brother of Louis XVI, paid 15,000 livres for this one, far more than she was getting for a portrait. The subject is from the 14th book of the Iliad, where Juno borrows the embroidered belt of Venus so as to draw her husband Jupiter's attention away from the fighting at Troy. She was received into the Academie in 1783 and showed the picture at the Salon that year. Artois fled France in 1789 and his collection was confiscated as emigre property. The painting is in private hands today.