It may have been easy for Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814) to scoff at the “extraordinary destiny” once promised to her by a fortune-teller. From the Island of Martinique, where she spent her girlhood, to the shadow of the guillotine, where she became a single mother, Josephine likely never would have predicted her remarkable rise to become “more than a queen”—until, that is, she met one Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821).
Today's Image: Sir David Wilkie, Joséphine and the Fortune-teller (1837). Oil on Canvas. National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.
______
New episodes every month. Let's keep in touch!
Listen to me on Lady Audaci-TEA: Spotify | Apple Podcasts
Subscribe to my newsletter, The Fascinator.
Email: artofhistorypod@gmail.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/matta_of_fact
Instagram: @artofhistorypodcast
TikTok: @artofhistorypod | @matta_of_fact
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices