Bidspirit auction | French School 'Portrait of Madame

French School 'Portrait of Madame Récamier' (Signed) - A portrait miniature, likely executed in gouache on an unidentified substrate, depicting Juliette Récamier in the Empire style. The sitter is shown in a three-quarter view with dark hair styled in an updo and ringlets, wearing a pale blue off-the-shoulder gown with a ruffled white neckline and a red shawl draped over one shoulder. The composition is based on the famous 1805 portrait by François Pascal Simon Gérard. In the right-hand field of the portrait, there is a small signature applied in dark pigment, appearing as the character J followed by a dot and the letter m with a flourish. The miniature is housed in a decorative, circular gilt-metal bezel featuring a repeating scroll-work pattern. This assembly is set within a larger oval dark wood secondary frame, which is in turn mounted into a dark-stained rectangular wooden block. The verso is covered in a tan, woven fabric backing secured by four small nails. Two yellow adhesive tape remnants are present on the upper and lower portions of the fabric backing. This antique item shows age-appropriate wear to the housing and portrait surface. The wooden block frame exhibits a large diagonal surface scratch on the left side and several chips to the finish at the lower corners (photo 1). The portrait itself shows small white spots of possible surface loss or accretion near the sitter's chest and neck (photo 2). The gilt-metal bezel and wooden frame show general surface wear and dust accumulation consistent with age.