Somewhat indiscreetly, at the height of the Terror, she made arrangements to sell some of the furniture at the Château de la Muette to a secondhand dealer.

This was reported to the authorities and she was arrested on charges of theft and concealment of biens nationaux – property belonging to the Republic.

Growing up, Rosalie was influenced by the wide variety of art and other objects in her father's shop and by his painting skills.

In addition to her natural ability to paint, the other knowledge she gained was by looking at etchings and busts that a neighboring artist Gabriel Briard lent her and her cousin Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun.

Accounts by Vigèe Le Brun depict Briard, as a mediocre painter but as a very talented sketch artist.

Filleul's natural talent and art lessons from Briard helped her excel in her craft and become well versed in pastels.

Rosalie became a widow in 1788, after ten years of marriage with Louis but was allowed to remain in her own home because her late husband's office was passed onto her by the Queen.

She lived there with her son, who was eight years old at the time and her close friend Marguerite-Émilie Chalgrin, who was the daughter of the artist Claude-Joseph Vernet.

Madame de Bonneuil, who was reputedly the most beautiful woman in Paris and later became a spy in the French Revolution was a good friend of Rosalie.

Lebrun also wrote memoirs after Filleul's death describing how she missed her friend and recollected their talks before she was guillotined in the French Revolution.

Her paintings capture the simple, rustic yet beautiful English-style gardens that came into vogue among the French upper elite in the 1770s and 1780s.

When the French Revolution broke out in 1789, Rosalie Filleul welcomed the change thinking it would bring more freedom to the country.

On the first anniversary of King Louis XVI's execution, Rosalie Filleul wore mourning attire, as she had always maintained a relationship with the royal family.

Chalgrin and Rosalie Filleul were caught and charged with trying to sell pieces of furniture which bore the royal insignia from Muette.

These two instances attracted negative attention from the Committee of Public Safety and Rosalie was denounced and put under surveillance.