Marie-Pauline Bonaparte Borghèse (1808)

Marie-Guillelmine Benoist: Marie-Pauline Bonaparte Borghèse, Duchesse de Guastalla

Another portrait of Napoleon's younger sister, first seen here.

Madame Philippe Desbassayns de Richemont and Her Son, Eugène (1802-03)

Marie-Guillelmine Benoist: Madame Philippe Desbassayns de Richemont and Her Son, Eugène

This sparkling portrait was once attributed to Jacques-Louis David. It is now known to have been done by his student, Marie-Guillelmine Benoist (whose work has been featured here before).

The subject, Jeanne Eglé Fulcrande Catherine Mourgue, called Égle, was born in Montpellier in 1778 and married Philippe Panon Desbassayns de Richemont in 1799. Her husband enjoyed a successful administrative and diplomatic career under the Consulat, Empire, and Restoration. Apparently a family legend says that the painting originally featured Madame de Richemont and her daughter Camille, but that after Camille's tragic death it was redone with Eugène. But this is unconfirmed.

Portrait of a Black Woman (1800)

This is Portrait d'une négresse by Marie-Guillemine Benoist.

Marie-Guillemine Benoist was a female Neoclassic painter. She trained under Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun and Jacques-Louis David, whose atelier she joined.

This painting, exhibited at the Salon of 1800, is noteworthy for a number of reasons. First, it's a skillfully done figure study. More importantly, for its time it was a very progressive painting that became a symbol of the rights of black people (slavery in France had been abolished six years prior to this painting) and women in general. It's hard to imagine a painting like this being done in America any time in the 19th century and receiving any acclamation - beyond the nudity, the painting conveys a profound sense of dignity in the subject.

An article about this painting is here (en français).