Portrait of Alexandrine Émilie Brongniart

This is the first painting publicly exhibited by François Gérard, who became one of the foremost portraitists of the period following the French Revolution. He chose as his model the fourteen-year-old Émilie Brongniart—daughter of his most important patron—to whom he was giving drawing lessons. Gérard’s skill is particularly evident in the rendering of Émilie’s features and hair, as well as in the differentiation between the textures of her attire, composed of a gauzy white chemise underneath a heavier pale dress.