Marie-Guilhelmine Benoist

Presents a study of the French painter Marie-Guilhelmine Benoist (1768-1826) along with a catalogue raisonné of her work. Her painting is examined within the context of French art at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries, with special emphasis placed on the influence of her teacher Jacques-Louis David and upon her famous painting Portrait of a Negress. The catalogue lists 84 works followed by a compilation of critical reviews that appeared between 1784 and 1812, the period in which her works were exhibited. The text includes numerous black and white illustrations along with 16 full-page color plates.