French women artists of the Napoleonic era (1799 –1815)

This thesis analyses the gendered power relations involved in art works that were created by women artists, during the Napoleonic era (1799 –1815). I explore how women artists use the female body as a signifier of wider gender debates. Unlike previous scholarship, I scrutinise the ways women asserted their engagement with the public sphere through their art works, how the historical context, for example, the establishment of the Napoleonic Civil Code, coupled with the ideology of separate spheres, and the opening of the Salon to all artists, effected the paintings women produced and exhibited. In chapter 1, I analyse the self-portraits of Marie-Denis Villers (1774 –1821), Constance Mayer (1774-1821), and Marie-Gabrielle Capet (1761-1818). I study how these women asserted their status as professional artists, whilst still engaging with the contemporary discourses concerning female identity. The second chapter proposes new interpretations of Pauline Auzou’s (1775-1835) representations of events celebrating the marriage of Marie-Louise and Napoleon Bonaparte. I scrutinise, how Auzou examines the Empress’s unique position in contemporary French society, the importance of images of Marie-Louise as Napoleonic propaganda paintings in the Salon exhibitions, and the artist’s portrayal of the significant, prescribed roles women played in the public sphere