Marie-Éléonore Godefroid facts for kids
Marie-Éléonore Godefroid (born June 20, 1778, in Paris – died 1849) was a talented French artist. She worked with many different art forms, including painting, watercolors, pastels, and drawing.
Some of her most famous paintings include Portraits of the Children of Marshall Duke d'Enghien (from 1810) and Portrait of Queen Hortense with her Children (from 1812). She also painted the Royal Princes and Princesses Louise and Marie d'Orléans. Marie-Éléonore Godefroid is especially known for her amazing portrait paintings.
Contents
About Marie-Éléonore Godefroid's Life
Marie-Éléonore Godefroid was born in Paris, France. She learned a special way of painting called the Davidian style. This style was very popular at the time.
Early Art Training and Teaching Career
Marie-Éléonore first learned art from her father, Ferdinand-Joseph Godefroid. He was a royal art restorer, meaning he fixed and preserved important artworks for the king.
Later, she became an art and music teacher. She taught at the Institute of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, run by Jeanne Campan. This school trained young women from important families during the time of Napoleon. In 1795, Marie-Éléonore decided to leave her teaching job. She wanted to spend all her time painting.
Working with Famous Artists
Around 1805, Godefroid joined the art studio, or atelier, of Baron François Gérard. She later worked closely with him. By 1812, she even lived in his home. She helped him in his office and studio. She also became a companion for him, his wife, and their nephews.
Godefroid also learned from another famous artist, Jean-Baptiste Isabey. She used different materials in her art, like oil paints, watercolors (called aquarelle), and pastels.
Exhibiting Her Art and Winning Awards
Between 1800 and 1847, Marie-Éléonore Godefroid showed her portraits in many art shows. She exhibited her work nineteen times at the famous Paris Salon. This was a very important art exhibition in Paris. She even won medals for her work in 1812 and 1824.
In 1810, she showed a very well-known painting. It was called Portraits of the Children of Marshall Duke d'Enghien. This painting showed the children of Marshal Ney as full-length portraits. The painting featured Ney's eight-year-old son Joseph Napoléon, his second son Michel Louis, and his two-year-old son Eugène. They were all dressed in fancy clothes.
Other Notable Portraits
Godefroid painted many other important people. In 1812, she showed portraits of the children of the Duke of Rovigo and Queen Hortense. In 1819 and 1822, she painted the children of the Duke of Orleans. She also painted the Duke of Orleans himself and Monsieur and Madame de Guiche in 1827.
She also created portraits of other famous figures. These included Abd el-Kader, the painter Jacques-Louis David, Jeanne Campan, Germaine de Staël, Talleyrand, and Marshal Lauriston. Some of her portraits were not shown in public exhibitions. These included paintings of Mrs. Oudenarde, the Latour Maubourg Countess, the violinist Pierre Rode, and Camille Jordan. Camille Jordan's portrait was later made into an engraving by Mullier.
Working for the French Government
Empress Joséphine was a big supporter of many women artists, including Godefroid. Marie-Éléonore also worked as a copyist. This means she made copies of existing artworks. She reproduced several paintings for the French government. These included portraits of Louis XVIII and Charles X.
See also
In Spanish: Marie-Éléonore Godefroid para niños