Portrait de Madame Corsse

Dating to 1805, the portrait demonstrates the portrait tradition that Louis-Léopold Boilly helped define. Painted during the tumultuous era of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, the work balances individual likeness with the idealized presentation expected by nineteenth-century patrons. His crowd scenes of Parisian streets, theaters, and cafés are invaluable documents of everyday life in the French capital across its most turbulent historical period.

The portrait is rendered with witty observation that characterizes Louis-Léopold Boilly's best work. Oil on canvas provides a rich ground for the subtle gradations of flesh tone and the textural contrasts between skin, fabric, and background that give the image its convincing presence.