Portrait of Laure-Emilie-Felicite is an 1812 painting by French Neoclassical artist Jacques-Louis David. This work is located in the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in San Francisco, California.
Laure-Émilie-Félicité David (1784-1853) was the daughter of the prominent French painter Jacques-Louis David. As a member of an influential family, Laure-Émilie grew up in an environment deeply connected to the arts and the political upheavals of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Born into a period of significant change, Laure-Émilie witnessed the rise and fall of various political regimes in France, including the French Revolution, the Napoleonic era, and the Bourbon Restoration. Her father, Jacques-Louis David, was not only a renowned artist but also an active political figure, closely associated with the revolutionary government and later serving as Napoleon’s court painter. This connection placed Laure-Émilie in a unique position within French society, exposed to both the artistic and political elites of her time.
Laure-Émilie married Jean-Baptiste Isabey, a well-known French painter and miniaturist, further cementing her ties to the artistic community. Their union produced children who continued the family’s artistic legacy, with several of them becoming notable painters and illustrators.
Throughout her life, Laure-Émilie maintained a close relationship with her father, even after his exile to Brussels following the fall of Napoleon. She provided emotional and practical support during his later years, and her presence was a source of comfort to him as he continued to work in relative obscurity.