Editing Joséphine de Beauharnais (section)

== Art patronage ==
Empress Joséphine was a great lover of all art. She was known for an interest in horticulture and loved all things artistic. She surrounded herself with creative people whose work ranged from paintings and sculpture to furniture and the architecture all around her. Joséphine always had an interest in art but it was with her marriage to her first husband that she would gain more access to art and artists. Due to her husband's high position in society she was often able to frequent many influential people's homes and learned from the works that were in their houses.<ref name=":0" /> After marrying [[Napoleon]] and becoming Empress she was surrounded by the works of the time, however Joséphine also appreciated the works of old masters. She was also drawn to artists and styles that were not widely used in her time, searching for artists that challenged the accepted standards. She visited the Salon to build relationships with contemporary artists. Joséphine became a patron to several different artists, helping to build their careers though their connection to her. After buying the Château de Malmaison, Joséphine had a blank canvas to showpiece her art and style and used it to create salons, galleries, a theater and her famous garden. The Malmaison and [[Tuileries Palace]] became centers for Napoleon's government but was recognized as an important place for the arts in any forms. Joséphine's court became the leading court in Europe for the arts. She became the first French female royal collector of this scale, leading in the Consular and [[Empire style|Empire Style]].<ref>Delorme, Eleanor P. Joséphine and the Arts of the Empire. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2005, 3–4.</ref>

=== Paintings ===
[[File:1801 Antoine-Jean Gros - Bonaparte on the Bridge at Arcole.jpg|thumb|upright|Antoine-Jean Gros, ''[[Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole]]'', 1796]]

Joséphine worked with and sought out the works of many artists throughout her lifetime. In the area of painters she mainly was a collector of paintings but she was painted by and worked with several artists such as [[Jacques-Louis David]] and [[François Gérard]]. However, there was one painter whom Joséphine favored and commissioned more often than others, [[Antoine-Jean Gros]]. Gros, upon hearing that Joséphine would be visiting Genoa, worked to get an introduction knowing that the association with Joséphine would help him become more well-known.

Upon meeting with Gros and seeing his work, Joséphine asked him to come back to Milan with her and to live in her residences. Joséphine then commissioned him to create a portrait of her husband, the then General Bonaparte. The work took several sittings between Gros and Napoleon and would be named ''[[Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole]]''. This painting would become a big part of Napoleon's propaganda and iconography. Gros would go on to paint other portraits of Napoleon, which always portrayed him as a fierce conqueror, propagating the image of Napoleon as powerful and unstoppable. Joséphine as a supporter and patron of Gros, aided him in becoming a central conduit for the message that the government was trying to disseminate about the rule of the Emperor in that time.

=== Sculpture ===
[[File:Canova-Dancer with her hands on her hips 45degree view.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Antonio Canova]] ''Dancer with Her Hands on her Hips'', 1812]]

Over her lifetime Joséphine commissioned four major pieces from the Italian Neoclassical sculptor [[Antonio Canova]]. The Empress was given a copy of Canova's work ''Cupid and Psyche'', which was originally promised to Colonel [[John Campbell, 1st Baron Cawdor|John Campbell]], but because of unforeseen circumstances it was gifted to Joséphine. She would commission Canova to create a sculpture and the result would be ''Dancer with Hands on Hips''. The work was commissioned in 1802 but was not finished until 1812, Joséphine allowed him to create on his own terms, which were based on the classics but with a more relaxed and joyful appearance. He would create several sculptures based on dancing. ''Dancer with Hands on Hips'' was praised by the art community because it was not based on any specific ancient sculpture, but with a classical style, making it a completely original sculpture.

Joséphine would commission Canova again for another sculpture called ''Paris''. The work's plaster cast was completed in 1807 but the marble statue was not finished until 1812. arriving in Malmaison in 1813 a year before Joséphine's death. The final sculpture that the Empress would commission was ''[[The Three Graces (Canova)|The Three Graces]]''. This work would not be completed until after Joséphine's death in 1816. All four works were eventually sold to Tsar Alexander of Russia.<ref>"Empress Josephine's Collection of Sculpture by Canova at Malmaison". Journal of the History of Collections 16, no. 1 (May 2004): 19–33.</ref>

=== Furniture/Design ===
The architects [[Charles Percier]] and [[Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine|Pierre Fontaine]] essentially became the decorators for Joséphine and Napoleon. Many of Joséphine's most well-known furnishings were created especially for her by Percier and Fontaine. The two architects worked within many of the empire's residences, creating spaces for the Empress to feel at home in. Percier and Fontaine had their own unique style and created pieces for both the Emperor and his Empress, which can be easily identified as their work, even when they were not stamped as created by Percier or Fontaine. Percier and Fontaine are known for their use of [[cheval glass]] and the use of a feminine, softer feel for the pieces used in the boudoir of the Empress. These pieces were unique for the time and appreciated for their creativity. The architects Percier and Fontaine are connected to the [[Empire style]] associated with the time period.<ref>Samoyault, Jean-Pierre. "Furniture and Objects Designed by Percier for the Palace of Saint-Cloud". The Burlington Magazine 117, no. 868 (1975): 457–65.</ref>