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Fig. 4 Fig. 5
tions at this precarious time and by 1794 Gérard’s of all the celebrated figures of the Empire and of the
career finally appeared to take off. That year he Restoration, many of whom, such as Madame de
entered an official competition for a painting illus- Staël, Chateaubriand, Tallyrand and the Duke of
trating the abolition of the monarchy on August 10, Wellington were guests as his table as well as sitters
1792 and won. Even if his winning composition in his studio. Gérard’s charm and intellect made his
remained unfinished – due to the regime change and Salon as frequented as his atelier. Now rich and
his own lack of commitment – his resulting confi- famous Gérard nevertheless regretted having to
dence impelled him towards other projects, such as abandon his earlier ambitions as a history painter and
his very successful collaboration with Jean-Baptiste occasionally tried to prove his mettle in this genre
Isabey, his famous Belisaire. The following year, with works like the Bataille d’Austerlitz (1810) and
Gérard’s portrait of Isabey with his small daughter later under the Bourbons, with L’Entrée d’Henri IV à
(Paris, Musée du Louvre), and his 1799 portrait of Paris (Versailles). By 1817 Gérard’s career waned, his
Napoleon’s mother, Madame Mère cemented his repu- appeal eclipsed by the burgeoning Romantic school.
tation as one of the premier portraitists now work- He was made a member of the Institute in 1812,
ing in France. enobled as a baron in 1819, was made an officer of
the légion d’honneur and was even first painter to
Over the next eighteen years, Gérard painted most Louis-Philippe.
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