Portrait of Jérôme Bonaparte

François Gérard's Portrait of Jérôme Bonaparte of 1811 depicts Napoleon's youngest brother who was then King of Westphalia — the German client state carved from Prussian and Hanoverian territory after Jena. Jérôme was the least capable of Napoleon's brothers, his reign notable chiefly for extravagance, and his kingdom collapsed as quickly as it had been created. Gérard depicted him with royal dignity appropriate to his nominal status, in the uniform and decorations of a Napoleonic monarch. The portrait participated in the systematic visual mythology of the Napoleonic family that Gérard's studio produced through the Empire years.

Gérard presents the youngest Bonaparte with the full panoply of royal portraiture — rich costume, confident pose, and an expression of youthful authority. The smooth, polished technique creates the image of majesty that the Napoleonic dynasty required from its official painter.