Marie-Denise Villers
It seems that everything had conspired to erase the name Marie-Denise Villers (1774-1821), so that she would fall into oblivion: obviously she was a woman painter, just a few of her works have been recovered. She had two sisters who were painters too. All those circumstances have contributed to the scholars’ confusion. Furthermore, for a while, her best-known work was awarded to the painter Jacques-Louis David. ‘Young woman painting’ is an iconic picture. Some refer to it as a self-portrait while other people understand it is really a picture of Charlotte du Val. I know nothing about the path of that portrait, a road leading to the New York Metropolitan Museum. I guess a philanthropist experienced both the charm and the mystery of that young girl who is watching us,…