Marie-Guillemine Benoist, Madame Phillippe Desbassayns, 1802-1803

Marie-Guillemine Benoist’s work Madame Phillippe Desbassayns de Richemont and Her Son, Eugene has a bit of a cloudy background. In 1897, the painting surfaced in an exhibition at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. This was the first time that Jacques-Louis David scholars had seen the work, and they presumed (wrongly) that it was his.

A member of the de Richmont family gave the work to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1953. Family tradition stated that David painted Madame de Richemont and her daughter, Camille, shortly before the girl’s death in an accident. The family sold the painting because the painting alludes to memories of their daughter’s tragic death. Critics speculate that after Camille’s death, the painting was altered to replace the young girl’s portrait with that of her brother Eugene’s. However, the physique of the child in the portrait, as portrayed through its curls and rosy skin tone, does not indicate a particular gender.

While art critics attribute the painting to Benoist, the mannerisms of David, her mentor, shine through the work. The position of the character, short brushstrokes, and wisp-ish quality of the hair mimics David’s style. But, the shade of red in the shawl that adorns the chair contradicts David’s customary color. The orange tones of Benoist’s fabric almost seem too bright and florescent compared to the customary crimson used in David’s works, such Venus Disarming Mars. After studying David’s paintings, it can resolutely be stated that Madame Phillippe Desbassayns de Richemont and Her Son, Eugene was not painted by the late master, but by his studious disciple.