(no subject)
Aug. 16th, 2010 07:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moonsheenHard day, thinking of a painting that really resonates with me...
Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and His Wife (Marie-Anne-Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836) by Jacque-Louis David.
This one gets me for the history: Monsieur Lavoisier was a man of some repute in the scientific world, known for such little things like recognizing and naming oxygen. He was easily France's greatest scientist in the 18th century and was in general integral in the history of chemistry and biology. His wife was probably nearly as brilliant. They were the closest thing you get to a power couple back then. She was equally interested in his work and functioned in the laboratories as his assistant. She's largely credited with documenting much of his work. She was also a student of David's (she did a lot of sketches of their research), and you can really tell David knew them personally. I love how it takes what could have been a blank couple portrait and puts so much life into their expressions and the way she's leaned over him.
Lavoisier had the unfortunate trouble of having been a tax collector in Revolutionary France. Yes, that's right. France guillotined their greatest scientist. Afterward his belongings, lab equipment, and notes were seized by the government. His wife launched a bitter campaign for their return, publishing his final memoirs outlining his research and theories (as well as viciously attacking the revolution for its role in her husband's death). She can probably be credited with rescuing his legacy from the clutch of the revolution. His private belongings were returned to her a year and a half after his death.
She later remarried another scientist but for the rest of her life, refused to ever go by any other name but Madame Lavoisier.
I love this painting because it embodies a lot of what I think I look for in a relationship: a solid partnership between two strong minds who clearly help each other move forward in their pursuits and provide inspiration and drive no matter what those pursuits may be. He and the artist clearly have such regard for her, and she worked so hard to preserve his life's work. That much synergy is rare and wonderful even in the 20th century, let alone in the 18th century. She seems like one awesome lady and one can guess her husband probably agreed!
Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and His Wife (Marie-Anne-Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836) by Jacque-Louis David.
This one gets me for the history: Monsieur Lavoisier was a man of some repute in the scientific world, known for such little things like recognizing and naming oxygen. He was easily France's greatest scientist in the 18th century and was in general integral in the history of chemistry and biology. His wife was probably nearly as brilliant. They were the closest thing you get to a power couple back then. She was equally interested in his work and functioned in the laboratories as his assistant. She's largely credited with documenting much of his work. She was also a student of David's (she did a lot of sketches of their research), and you can really tell David knew them personally. I love how it takes what could have been a blank couple portrait and puts so much life into their expressions and the way she's leaned over him.
Lavoisier had the unfortunate trouble of having been a tax collector in Revolutionary France. Yes, that's right. France guillotined their greatest scientist. Afterward his belongings, lab equipment, and notes were seized by the government. His wife launched a bitter campaign for their return, publishing his final memoirs outlining his research and theories (as well as viciously attacking the revolution for its role in her husband's death). She can probably be credited with rescuing his legacy from the clutch of the revolution. His private belongings were returned to her a year and a half after his death.
She later remarried another scientist but for the rest of her life, refused to ever go by any other name but Madame Lavoisier.
I love this painting because it embodies a lot of what I think I look for in a relationship: a solid partnership between two strong minds who clearly help each other move forward in their pursuits and provide inspiration and drive no matter what those pursuits may be. He and the artist clearly have such regard for her, and she worked so hard to preserve his life's work. That much synergy is rare and wonderful even in the 20th century, let alone in the 18th century. She seems like one awesome lady and one can guess her husband probably agreed!
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(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-16 11:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-17 12:08 am (UTC)BAMF historical couples that do awesome things are my favorite non-fiction subject.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-17 12:14 am (UTC)It really just seems like she just said something cheeky, and he's like "..You didn't...", and she's all like 'haha *smug*'. The subtle intimacy is also nice (He's not stiff with her invasion of space, instead, actually contributes to it).
it's a remarkable painting.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-08-17 02:26 am (UTC)Everyone was all, "Rust is the metal being eaten away!" and he was all, "check these readings, rust makes stuff heavier which means mass is being added, not removed!" and they were all "you paid for that ridiculously expensive scale with our tax money, off with your head!"
Also, the actress who played her in that movie was pretty terrible, but it was still an amusing story until, you know, guillotine.