Portrait of Madame Recamier

The painting breaks with the traditional framing of the portraits, which are narrower on the faces of the models. David thus creates a real distance between the spectator and the half-stretched young woman, like a Roman patrician. The ancient severity is mitigated by the grace of the model. It illustrates the social rise open to the bourgeoisie which seeks to impose itself by exploiting values and representations from Antiquity.