Hélène Charlotte Pauline Dessolles (1803-1864)

This 1835 portrait of Hélène Charlotte Pauline Dessolles is one of Gros’s final works, painted in the year of his death by suicide at sixty-four. Gros’s despair stemmed partly from harsh criticism of his late paintings, which were seen as failing to match either the neoclassical standards of his teacher David or the new Romantic movement of Delacroix. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays monumental scale, vivid reportorial color, Romantic energy in figure groups, combining David's Neoclassical training with the excitement of actual military events.

The late portrait maintains Gros’s technical competence despite the personal anguish of his final years. Warm coloring and careful rendering demonstrate the enduring craft of a lifelong professional.