page_title: Empress Joséphine
section_title: Art Patronage
hierarchical_section_title: Empress Joséphine / Art Patronage
context_page_description: Joséphine Bonaparte was the Empress consort of the French as the first wife of Emperor Napoleon I. She is often called Joséphine de Beauharnais, a name not used during her lifetime.
  Throughout Joséphine's lifetime she was a great lover of the arts. She worked closely with sculptors, painters and interior decorators to establish a unique Consular style at the Château de Malmaison that is well known. She helped establish the popularity of the Empire and Consular styles. Through her knowledge she became, in her time, one of the leading collectors of different forms of art, such as sculpture and painting. The Château de Malmaison was noted for its magnificent rose garden, which she supervised closely, owing to her passionate interest in roses, collected from all over the world.
  Her marriage to Napoleon was her second; her first husband, Alexandre de Beauharnais, was guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she was imprisoned in the Carmes Prison until five days after his execution. Her two children by Beauharnais became significant to royal lineage. Through her daughter Hortense, she was the maternal grandmother of Napoleon III.
context_section_description: Empress Josephine was a great lover of all art. Her great interest in her gardens is well known but she also liked all things artistic. She surrounded herself with creative people whose work ranged from paintings and sculpture to furniture and the architecture all around her. Josephine always had an interest in art but it was with her marriage to her first husband that she would gain more access to art and artists. Due to her husband's high position in society she was often able to frequent many influential people's homes and learned from the works that were in their houses. After marrying Napoleon and becoming Empress she was surrounded by the works of the time, however Josephine also appreciated the works of old masters. She was also drawn to artist and styles that were not widely used in her time, searching for artist that challenged the accepted standards. She visited the Salon to build relationships with contemporary artists. Josephine became a patron to several different artist, helping to build their careers though their connection to her. After buying the Château de Malmaison, Josephine had a blank canvas to showpiece her art and style and used it to create salons, galleries, a theater and her infamous garden. The Malmaison and Tuileres Palace became centers for Napoleon's government but was recognized as an important place for the arts in any forms. Josephine's court became the leading court in Europe for the arts. She became the first French female royal collector of this scale, leading in the Consular and Empire Style.
caption: Antoine-Jean Gros,General Bonaparte at the Bridge of Arcole, 1796
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