Lot Essay
Marie-Josèphe-Rose Tascher de La Pagerie, called Joséphine (1763-1814), married Vicomte Alexandre de Beauharnais in 1779. They had two children, Eugène and Hortense. During the French Revolution, her husband was guillotined and Joséphine herself imprisoned. After her liberation, she married General Napoléon Bonaparte in 1796. In 1809, Emperor Napoléon divorced her and married Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria in 1810. Joséphine was richly compensated and kept the title of Empress.
The Geneva miniaturist Bouvier was very friendly with Joséphine (see Elisabeth della Santa, Florilège de la Famille Bouvier, Geneva 1987, vol. I. p. XXII-3), and apart from the present miniature of her, a small oil portrait (290 x 245 mm; sold Tours, Étude Odent - Fraisse, 18 March 1990, lot 26) and an enamel miniature (Château de la Malmaison; illustrated in Elisabeth della Santa, Pierre-Louis Bouvier - "Album", Nyon 1978, pl. XIII), signed by Bouvier, are recorded. We are indebted to Dr Elisabeth della Santa, descendant of Bouvier, for her help in the cataloguing of this miniature.
The Geneva miniaturist Bouvier was very friendly with Joséphine (see Elisabeth della Santa, Florilège de la Famille Bouvier, Geneva 1987, vol. I. p. XXII-3), and apart from the present miniature of her, a small oil portrait (290 x 245 mm; sold Tours, Étude Odent - Fraisse, 18 March 1990, lot 26) and an enamel miniature (Château de la Malmaison; illustrated in Elisabeth della Santa, Pierre-Louis Bouvier - "Album", Nyon 1978, pl. XIII), signed by Bouvier, are recorded. We are indebted to Dr Elisabeth della Santa, descendant of Bouvier, for her help in the cataloguing of this miniature.