Marie-Guillemine Benoist

Marie-Guillemine Benoist was a Neoclassical painter who crashed the Parisian art scene of the late 18th century. A student of the famed Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun and Jacques-Louis David, she was one of the few women to infiltrate the boys' club of the Salon. She painted with a feminist flair, once depicting "vice" as a man when it was traditionally a woman's role. Rumor has it that during her portrait session with Napoleon, she had to strategically place his hand to prevent him from constantly striking a dramatic pose. This, of course, is pure speculation. Her most famous work, the "Portrait of Madeleine," is a stunning depiction of a recently freed Black woman, a bold statement for its time. Benoist's promising career was cut short when her husband's political post required her to retire from the public eye, proving that even a gold medal from the Salon couldn't compete with societal expectations.