Who she is and how this painting came to be painted has yet to be unraveled, but a close reading of the dress provides clues to narrow the window for future research.
Neoclassicism (c. 1760-1810)
The portability and affordability of prints contributed to the exchange of information and ideas between cultures.
Printmaking in Europe, c. 1400−1800
This portrait of an unnamed woman speaks volumes about slavery, politics, and gender in revolutionary France.
Marie-Guillemine Benoist, Portrait of Madeleine
As the low candles and late hour suggest, Napoleon is short on time. David captures the twilight of his reign.
David, The Emperor Napoleon in His Study ...
Rendering the grief of wives and daughters, David depicts the wrenching domestic aftermath of personal sacrifice.
David, Study for The Lictors Bringing Brutus ...
The novelist Stendhal called this sculpture “the greatest work of modern times.” Canova disagreed.
Antonio Canova, Penitent Magdalene
Uniting ancient Greek purity with Gothic daring, this church marked a new direction for French architecture.
Soufflot, The Panthéon (Church of Ste-Geneviève), Paris
This Neoclassical monument to Napoleon’s army was modeled on an ancient Roman temple in Nîmes, just much bigger.
Vignon, Church of La Madeleine
Napoleon’s sister courted controversy and posed semi-nude for Canova, who sculpted her as a modern-day Venus.
Antonio Canova, Paolina Borghese as Venus Victorious
This Swiss-born artist painted Roman stories with moralizing messages. Here, Cornelia provides a model of virtue.
Angelica Kauffmann, Cornelia Pointing to her Children ...
Was this the beginning of the end for David—or a new dawn? As far as portraits of Napoleon go, there’s none better.
Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps
This idealized portrait celebrates Republican ideals and memorializes a Revolutionary martyr in the pose of Christ.
Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Marat
Rejecting the Rococo, artists valued moderation and favored a clear drawing style more in line with the times.
Neoclassicism, an introduction
In style and story, this rigorously organized canvas looked back to antiquity; it soon became an icon of Revolution.
Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii
Thinkers like Rousseau and Voltaire illuminated the world, just as Wright’s paintings shed light on new machinery.
The Age of Enlightenment, an introduction
Girodet references ancient Greek sculpture but his softness anticipates Romanticism. The entire painting glows!
Anne-Louis Girodet, The Sleep of Endymion
The stark space of this painting echoes the stoicism of its narrative—and reflects David’s research into antiquity.
David, The Lictors Returning to Brutus the ...
Think of the children! In contrast to David’s earlier paintings, this scene extols the strength of women.
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