text: She later visited Lake Maggiore and resided on one of the two islands in the lake, the Isola Bella, being granted permission by the Prince Borromeo to lodge on the estate there. She soon attempted to visit the other isle, Isola Madre, but stormy weather affected her journey and she returned. It was during this period that she met the Countess Bistri, who would become one of her close friends. She informed the countess of her desire to travel to Vienna, and the countess replied that she and her husband were travelling there soon. Wishing to accompany the artist on her travel, the count and countess brought forward their date of departure to accomplish this. Vigée Le Brun praised the great care they took of her, and she finally left Milan for Austria. Vigée Le Brun would later describe Milan as being very similar to Paris.
  While in Italy, Vigée Le Brun was elected to the Academy in Parma (1789) and the Accademia di San Luca in Rome (1790). Vigée Le Brun also painted allegorical portraits of Emma Hamilton as Ariadne (1790) and as a Bacchante (1792). Lady Hamilton was similarly the model for Vigée Le Brun's Sibyl (1792), which was inspired by the painted sibyls of Domenichino. The painting represents the Cumaean Sibyl, as indicated by the Greek inscription on the figure's scroll, which is taken from Virgil's fourth Eclogue. The Sibyl was Vigée Le Brun's favorite work; it is mentioned in her memoir more than any other work. She displayed it while in Venice (1792), Vienna (1792), Dresden (1794) and Saint Petersburg (1795); she also sent it to be shown at the Salon of 1798. It was perhaps her most successful painting, and had always garnered the most praise and attracted many viewers wherever it was displayed. Like her reception piece, Peace Bringing Back Abundance, Vigée Le Brun regarded her Sibyl as a history painting, the most elevated category in the Académie's hierarchy.