The artist portrayed herself before the easel with her two pupils, Marie Gabrielle Capet (17611818) and Marie Marguerite Carreaux de Rosemond (died 1788).
In 1783, when Labille-Guiard and Vigée-Lebrun were admitted to the French Académie Royale, the number of women artists eligible for membership was limited to four, and this canvas has been interpreted as a propaganda piece, arguing for the place of women in the academy.
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