Marguerite Gerard (January 28, 1761 to May 18, 1837 ) is a figure of interest. She was a painter in pre-revolutionary Paris and an extremely beautiful woman. Come the revolution she painted the citizen's cockade (a red white and blue ribbon pin) onto her previously finished portraits of prosperous middle class gentlemen. She could well have been sympathetic with the revolutionary ideals. Regardless of her sentiments which we do not know, in the 1790s, that turbulent decade, she sailed on, painting, genre scenes, a plausible choice for a woman artist at any time, but one which could have given her cover: genre scenes feature domestic interiors, family situations, rather than public events. She is said to have been very popular, accumulating wealth and property. Napoleon bought one of her canvases, and so later did the newly restored Bourbon king, Louis XVIII.
Don't think they bought this though, a portrait, of whom I do not know.
Besides the curious portrait above, (expressing an intimacy not to be seen again for a century) here's some peculiar details. She was schooled by her brother-in-law. After her mother died in 1775, Marguerite went to live with her sister, rather than live with her father. That sister was married to the man who painted the idle in aristocratic idylls - Jean-Honoré Fragonard. He taught her how to engrave, and paint in oils. He was atop the art world until the revolution, when his specialty was suddenly in poor taste. After some years she moved out of that household, although she never married. You just would like to fill in some more of the picture of this talented woman. And I find it interesting to see the artist herself caught on paper, or--- ivory, as is the case in the second portrait.
Marguerite Gerard in her teens.
and, (from wikipedia,) in her thirties.
Yes, there is story here. Just don't know what it is.
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