Portrait of Madame Augustine Bertin de Veaux

Girodet's portrait of Madame Augustine Bertin de Veaux from 1809 is a companion to his portrait of her mother-in-law, documenting two generations of the same family that was part of the influential Bertin newspaper dynasty during the Empire period. The 1809 date places this in the height of Napoleon's imperial power—the year of Wagram and the Austrian peace—when the bourgeoisie of official Paris was celebrating its prosperity and cultural achievement. Girodet's female portraits of this period demonstrate his ability to adapt his neoclassical training to the fashions and aspirations of the imperial bourgeoisie, combining the formal authority of academic portraiture with the specific sartorial and social documentation that family portrait commissions demanded.

Girodet renders the sitter's features with careful attention to individual character while maintaining the idealized smoothness expected of female portraiture in this period. The Empire-period costume is documented with typical precision, its fabrics and accessories contributing to the overall characterization. The palette balances warm flesh tones with the varied colors of fashionable dress.