Marie-guillemine benoist biography graphic organizer

French artist (1768–1826)

Marie-Guillemine Benoist, born Marie-Guillemine Laville-Leroux (18 December 1768 – 8 October 1826), was a French neoclassical, historical, and genrepainter.

Biography

Benoist was born in Paris,^[1] the daughter of a civil servant. Her training as an artist began in 1781 under Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, and she entered Jacques-Louis David's atelier in 1786 along with her sister Marie-Élisabeth Laville-Leroux.

Benoist first exhibited in the Exposition de la Jeunesse in 1784, showing a portrait of her father and two pastel studies of heads. She continued to exhibit at the Exposition until 1788.^[2] The poet Charles-Albert Demoustier, who met her in 1784, was inspired by her in creating the character Émilie in his work Lettres à Émilie sur la mythologie (1801).

In 1791, Benoist exhibited for the first time at the Paris Salon, displaying her mythology-inspired picture Psyché faisant ses adieux à sa