Portrait of Anne Louise Félicité Riesener (1786-1845) and her sister Adélaïde Janet

Son of one of the most famous cabinetmakers of the 18th century, Henri-François Riesener trained in the art of portraiture first with Antoine Vestier, with whom he learned the technique of miniature painting, then in 1790 with Jacques-Louis David and in 1792 with François-André Vincent. He made his debut at the Salon of 1793 and, after five years in the army, returned to his brushes to become one of the most admired portraitists under the Empire.

His large full-length portrait of his wife and sister-in-law, painted in 1808, was a huge success at the Salon of 1810. It was twice honored by being placed in the corner of the salon carré, the most sought-after space for painters, all of whom hoped to have their work seen by visitors. The painting was exhibited again at the Salon of 1814, this time earning the painter a medal of honor.

Both intimate in subject and worldly in ambition, this portrait is indeed one of Riesener's masterpieces, as he excelled in large-scale compositions depicting people in salon settings with great sensitivity. The rendering of fabrics, the shimmer of satins, the depth of velvets and the refinement of the palette make this one of the finest representations of elegant life under the Empire. Madame Riesener, pictured here bending over a writing table in a complicit exchange with her sister, was Empress Josephine's maid of honor and reader at the time.

This close relationship with Napoleon and his family, many of whose portraits he painted, forced him to flee to Russia during the Restoration, where he worked for Tsar Alexander I from 1815 to 1822, to support his family back in Paris. On his return, he taught painting to his son Léon, who became a Romantic painter, close to his cousin Eugène Delacroix and worthy heir to the Riesener dynasty.