Portrait of Maréchale Lannes, Duchesse de Montebello with Her Children

Mar�chal Lannes was one of Napoleon’s favorite officers, famous for his extraordinary heroism on the battlefield. In 1800 he married Louise-Antoinette-Scholastique Gu�h�neuc (1782-1856). It was a happy marriage, Louise-Scholastique was a loving and devoted wife to Lannes. After her husband’s death on May 31st 1809, the Mar�chale Lannes still played an important role at the imperial court when, after Napoleon’s remarriage to Marie-Louise, she was chosen, for her irreproachable morality and virtue, to become Dame d’honneurs (lady-in-waiting) to the new Empress. From about 1814, the year this painting was commissioned, the Duchess of Montebello began to withdraw from public and lead a retired life, devoted to her five children.