Portrait of a woman with her two children
Circa 1804, Napoleonic era, by François-Joseph Kinson
This family portrait is very interesting because it illustrates the fashion of Napoleon’s time. The mother wears a velvet dress with the characteristic high waist and puffed sleeves. Her dark blue dress with a short corsage is set with decorations inspired by military uniforms. Kinson very carefully painted these brandebourgs of gold thread and the matching knotted string with two tassels. The daughter is portrayed in a fashionable white silk dress finished with a fur strip. Her updo is very similar to her mother’s: with a parting in the middle, a chignon at the back of the head and graceful ringlets along the temples. Her brother is depicted in a dark-colored suit with a white shirt underneath with a stand-up collar. The luxurious red cashmere scarf on the velvet upholstered sofa completes the empire portrait.
(Musea Brugge)
