It depicts the Parisian salonier Juliette Récamier, a famous beauty of his time, in a classic pose, but with an unmistakable sensuality.

[3] In 1800, the neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David painted her in a classical pose and dress, with her reclined on a type of sofa that would later be named after her: a récamier.

[5] The artist portrays Récamier in a classic but equally natural environment, where the graceful curves of her figure and the nuances of her complexion blend with the shapes and colors of her surroundings.

[7] Here the eroticism is nuanced by the reflective facial expression of the sitter and the apparent quietness of the place, which could be a bathroom, protected from outside by a curtain.

[8] Gérard's portrait remained in Récamier's drawing room for several years, until she gave it to her admirer, Prince Augustus of Prussia, in 1843.