Bust Joséphine de Beauharnais

Chinard imagined this representation of the empress the day after the coronation of 1804. Joséphine wears a crown and a tiara set with diamonds on which a cameo of her husband, Napoleon Bonaparte, adorns a cross of the Legion of Honor. The symbols of imperial power decorate her bodice and her mantle: the star, the laurel leaf and the eagle holding a lightning bolt, as well as the bee, Napoleon's personal emblem.