Joséphine Bust

Bust representing the Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, after an original made by the sculptor Joseph Chinard around 1806-1808.
The artist imagined this representation the day after the coronation of 1804. Joséphine wears a crown and a tiara set with diamonds on which a cameo by her husband, Napoleon Bonaparte, adorns a cross of the Legion of Honor. Symbols of imperial power adorn her bodice and mantis: the star, the bay leaf and the eagle holding a lightning bolt, as well as the bee, Napoleon's personal emblem.