Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (1758 – 1823) was born in Cluny, Saone-et-Loire, France. He was a French Romantic painter and draughtsman best known for Neo-classical female figure portraits. In particular, he painted a portrait of each of Napoleon's wives. His primary training was at the Dijon Academy, from which he won a scholarship to Rome in 1784. In 1788, he returned to Paris, and after working in obscurity for some time, he flourished under Napoleon, becoming a favorite of his empresses, Josephine and Marie Louise. In addition to painting portraits of the imperial court, Prud'hon designed decorations for important ceremonies, including Napoleon's marriage to Marie Louise in 1810. After the fall of Napoleon in 1815, he remained in official favor but painted little in his final years.