Description

This painting is one of a body of work that was initially inspired by histories of actual female duels, I then expounded on that idea by imagining these would be set as a re-telling for a theatre play or opera. What has typically been regarded as a masculine art, I was fascinated to find the actual recorded events of female duels, some rather famous and spectacular. 

This particular painting was inspired by Julie D’ Aubigny also known by her stage name in the Paris Opera as La Maupin. She was born in 1670 and became known as a cross-dresser, a bisexual, an opera singer, a fugitive and an expert swordswoman. The life of La Maupin was brilliant and memorable as she disregarded societal norms that restricted women in particular.