Princess Pauline Borghese

1808 · Château de Versailles et de Trianon, Versailles

portrait

Lefèvre probably painted Napoleon's favourite sister Marie-Pauline (1780-1825) more frequently than any other artist, although we are more familiar with her in the work of the Parisian painter Bosio and in Canova's generous rendering of her as Venus Victrix. After two earlier marriages Pauline married Prince Camillo Borghese in 1803, and Lefèvre's representative portraits include one painted in 1808, showing her as Princess Pauline Borghese, in her robe of state.

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About the Artist

Robert Lefèvre

1755 – 1830

French painter. He was the son of a Bayeux draper and originally worked as a law clerk before learning to paint, possibly in the studio of Pierre de Lesseline in Caen. Lefèvre quickly made a reputation for himself and established a sizeable practice in Normandy. About 1784 he went to Paris and entered the studio of Jean-Baptiste Regnault, where he formed a close friendship with the artist and critic Charles-Paul Landon. He made a name with mythological subjects and was soon, rather over-hastily, being compared as a portrait painter to David and Gérard by his contemporaries. After Napoleon came to the throne Lefèvre was entrusted to paint state portraits of the Emperor and his family.

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