Although this is one of Prud’hon’s last works, it has all the characteristics of his earlier style, with its precise drawing and softened edges, which go back to one of the main influences on the artist, the Renaissance master, Correggio. The slightly blackish tones of the flesh are characteristic of Prud’hon’s manner, and are not the result of the picture’s condition. The sitter was married into a military family and, having no heirs, she bequeathed the bulk of her fortune to found the hospital in Paris which bears her name.

‍