Refashioning the Lavoisiers - The Metropolitan Museum of Art

A landmark of neoclassical portraiture and a cornerstone of The Met collection, Jacques Louis David’s Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and Marie Anne Lavoisier (Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836)presents a modern, scientifically minded couple in fashionable but simple dress, their bodies casually intertwined. Antoine Laurent Lavoisier is often referred to as the “father of modern chemistry” and Marie Anne Lavoisier is known as a key collaborator in his experiments—aspects of the couple’s personality that have been well served by this famous image. Left: Jacques-Louis David (French, Paris 1748–1825 Brussels). Antoine-Laurent and Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze Lavoisier, 1788. Oil on canvas. 102 1/4 x 76 5/8 in. (259.7 x 194.6 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Everett Fahy, 1977 (1977.10). Center: Infrared reflectogram (IRR) of David’s portrait of the Lavoisiers. Vague indications of changes to painted passag

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