''Portrait of Madame Recamier'' (French: ''Portrait de Madame Récamier '') is an oil on canvas painting by French artist

Antoine-Jean Gros Antoine-Jean Gros (; 16 March 177125 June 1835) was a French painter of historical subjects. He was granted the title of Baron Gros in 1824. Gros studied under Jacques-Louis David in Paris and began an independent artistic career during the ...

from about 1825. It is held at the

Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under the patronage of the Croatian bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer under the name Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (, JAZU) since its ...

, in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

Description

The portrait presents Madame Recamier in her middle age. A great beauty of her time, she had been portrayed in her youth by

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

and

François Gérard François Pascal Simon Gérard (, 4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a French painter. He was born in Rome, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was Italian. A ...

, at a time when she was leading a cosmopolitan life in Paris while residing at the consulate in the city. She was known for her lavish soirees at the Palace of Rue Mont Blanc, which were attended by contemporary artists, writers, actors and politicians. The portrait was painted later, but still shows her fair features and graceful hands folded under her chest.

Provenance

The painting was exhibited in Strossmayer Gallery, in

. It is owned by the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, in Zagreb. It was donated in 1903 by French nobleman Eugène-Emmanuel-Ernst Halvin, Marquis Penn.

References

1825 paintings Paintings by Antoine-Jean Gros Portraits of women {{1820s-painting-stub