05 Paintings, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Madame Récamier, with Footnotes. #55

François Gérard, (1770–1837)

Portrait de Juliette Récamier, c. 1805

Oil on canvas

225 × 145 cm (88.5 × 57 ″)

Musée Carnavalet, Paris

François Pascal Simon, Baron Gérard (4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), was a French painter born in Rome. At the age of twelve Gérard obtained admission into the Pension du Roi in Paris. From the Pension he passed to the studio of the sculptor Augustin Pajou which he left at the end of two years for that of the history painter Nicolas-Guy Brenet, whom he quit almost immediately to place himself under Jacques-Louis David.

In 1794 he obtained  first prize in a competition. Further stimulated by the successes of his rival and friend Girodet in the Salons of 1793 and 1794. Gérard produced in 1795 his famous Bélisaire. In 1796 a portrait of his generous friend obtained undisputed success. In 1799, his portrait of Madame Mère established his position as one of the first portrait-painters of the day.

In 1808 as many as eight, and in 1810 no less than fourteen, portraits by him, were exhibited at the Salon, and these figures afford only an indication of the enormous numbers which he executed yearly; all the leading figures of the Empire and of the Bourbon Restoration, all the most celebrated men and women of Europe, sat for Gérard. Rich and famous, Gérard was stung by remorse for earlier ambitions abandoned. In 1817 he did homage to the returned Louis XVIII. After this date Gérard declined, watching with impotent grief the progress of the Romantic school.

Loaded with honors – baron of the Empire in 1809, member of the Institut on 7 March 1812, officer of the légion d'honneur, first painter to the king – he worked on, sad and discouraged; the revolution of 1830 added to his disquiet; and on 11 January 1837, after three days of fever, he died. More on Baron Gérard

Jeanne Françoise Julie Adélaïde Récamier (4 December 1777 – 11 May 1849) (Juliette), was a French socialite, whose salon drew Parisians from the leading literary and political circles of the early 19th century. As an icon of neoclassicism, Récamier cultivated a public persona of herself as a great beauty and her fame quickly spread across Europe. She befriended many intellectuals, sat for the finest artists of the age.

Jacques-Louis David, (1748–1825)

Portrait of Madame Récamier, circa 1800

Oil on canvas

Height: 173 cm (68.1 ″); Width: 243 cm (95.6 ″)

Louvre Museum

Jacques-Louis-Jules David, 1829-1886, was the grandson of the immensely influential neo-classical Jacques-Louis David. Additionally, Jules David was an art historian in his own right, and among his grandfather's first biographers. He entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1849 where he studied with Cogniet and Picot. More on Jacques-Louis-Jules David

Jacques-Louis David showing her in the height of Neoclassical fashion, reclining on a Directoire style sofa in a simple Empire line dress with almost bare arms, and short hair "à la Titus". He began it in May 1800 but may have left it unfinished when he learned that François Gérard (above) had been commissioned before him to paint a portrait of the same model (Gerard's portrait was completed in 1802). More on this work

A native of Lyon, Jeanne Françoise was the only child of the King's counsellor and a notary. She was educated at the Couvent de la Déserte in Lyon briefly, after which her family moved to Paris. Beautiful, accomplished, and with a love of literature, Juliette was described as shy and modest by nature.

Firmin Massot, (1766–1849)

Juliette Récamier, c. 1807

Oil on canvas

Length: 24.5 cm (9.6 ″); Height: 29.5 cm (11.6 ″)

Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon

Firmin Massot (5 May 1766, in Geneva, Republic of Geneva – 16 May 1849, in Geneva, Switzerland) was a Swiss portrait painter.

He began his studies in 1778 at the "School of Drawing", then attended classes at the "Society of Arts". A trip to Italy from 1787 to 1788 had a lasting effect on his style. He had his first showing in 1789 at the Salon of Geneva. At the next Salon, he won the Grand Prize. In 1794, he was invited to Lausanne to work for Madame de Staël.

In 1799, he was named Director of the "Écoles de dessin de la ville de Genève" and, the following year, became a member of the art society. From 1807 to 1813, he travelled throughout France. From 1828 to 1829, he toured England and Scotland, receiving many commissions along the way and becoming enamored of the English "conversation pieces". He also favored a style known as "jusqu'aux genoux" (as far as the knees)

After 1820 many of his portraits were done in collaboration with the landscape painter Wolfgang-Adam Töpffer and the animal painter Jacques-Laurent Agasse. Created mostly for wealthy patrons, Massot would paint the figures while his associates would fill in the backgrounds with various props that symbolized the sitter.


Many prominent women were among his sitters, including Madame Recamier, the Empress Josephine and Queen Hortense. His sister Pernette was also a painter and engraver and is sometimes cited as his first teacher. More on Firmin Massot

From the earliest days of the French Consulate to almost the end of the July Monarchy, Juliette's salon in Paris was one of the chief resorts of literary and political society that followed what was fashionable. The habitués of her house included many former royalists, and others more or less disaffected to the government. This circumstance, together with her refusal to act as lady-in-waiting to Empress consort Joséphine de Beauharnais and her friendship for Germaine de Staël, brought her under suspicion.

Attributed to Jacques-Louis David, (1748-1825)

Portrait of Juliette Recamier (1777-1849), c. 1810

Oil on canvas

Height: 64 cm; Width: 81 cm

Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées

This painting is removed from the attribution to Jacques-Louis David by the painter's specialists, it could come from a student of the painter . This work could be a study for the portrait of the Louvre.

Jacques-Louis-Jules David, 1829-1886, was the grandson of the immensely influential neo-classical Jacques-Louis David. Additionally, Jules David was an art historian in his own right, and among his grandfather's first biographers. He entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1849 where he studied with Cogniet and Picot. More on Jacques-Louis-Jules David

She was eventually exiled from Paris by the orders of Napoleon I. After a short stay at her native Lyon, she proceeded to Rome, and finally to Naples. 

In her later days she lost most of what was left of her fortune; but she continued to receive visitors in her apartment at Abbaye-aux-Bois.

Continental School

PORTRAIT OF A LADY, CALLED MADAME RÉCAMIER (1777-1849)

Watercolor and bodycolor

7.7 x 12 cm. (3 x 4.7 in.)

Private collection

The Continental School, 19th Century comprised a group of artists active in this region in the period. Works identified as being by this group appear regularly at auction.

Despite old age, ill-health, partial blindness, and reduced circumstances, Juliette Récamier never lost her attractiveness.

In 1849, Juliette Récamier died in Paris of cholera at the age of 71. More on Madame Récamier

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