Hortense Haudebourt-Lescot

She was born in Paris to Jean-Baptiste Viel, a perfumer, and his wife Cécile, née Lejeune.

At the age of seven, she began her studies with Guillaume Guillon-Lethière, a popular history painter and family friend.

There she depicted the customs and costumes of Italian peasants in great detail, which influenced much of her later work.

[2] Her work attracted the attention of the Duchess of Berry who, in 1816, appointed her to be her personal painter.

As a teacher, Haudebourt-Lescot's pupils included the painters Herminie Déhérain[4] and Marie-Ernestine Serret.