View source for Joséphine de Beauharnais

{{Short description|Empress of the French from 1804 to 1810}}
{{for multi|her granddaughter, the queen consort of Sweden and Norway|Josephine of Leuchtenberg|the racehorse|Empress Josephine (horse)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox royalty
| consort      = yes
| name         = Joséphine de Bonaparte
| birth_name   = Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie
| title        = {{ubl|Viscountess of Beauharnais|[[Duke of Navarre|Duchess of Navarre]]}}
| image        = File:Baron François Gérard - Joséphine in coronation costume - Google Art Project (cropped, Josephine detail).jpg
| alt          = Joséphine in her {{age|format=ordinal|1763|1809}} year
| caption      = Portrait by [[François Gérard]], {{Circa|1808-1809}}
| succession   = [[Empress consort of the French]]
| reign        = 18 May 1804&nbsp;– 10 January 1810
| cor-type     = [[Coronation of Napoleon and Joséphine|Coronation]]
| coronation   = 2 December 1804
| succession1  = [[Queen consort of Italy]]
| reign1       = 23 May 1805&nbsp;– 10 January 1810
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1763|06|23|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Les Trois-Îlets]], [[Martinique]], [[Kingdom of France]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1814|05|29|1763|06|23|df=yes}}
| death_place  = [[Rueil-Malmaison]], [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Kingdom of France]]
| burial_place = Church of Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul, [[Rueil-Malmaison]], France
| spouses      = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|{{nowrap|[[Alexandre de Beauharnais|Alexandre, Viscount of Beauharnais]]}}|13 December 1779|23 July 1794|end=d}}
* {{marriage|[[Napoleon I]]|9 March 1796|10 January 1810|end=ann.}}
}}
| issue        = {{Unbulleted list|[[Eugène de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg]]|[[Hortense de Beauharnais, Queen of Holland]]}}
| house        = [[Duke of Dalberg#Tascher de La Pagerie|Tascher de La Pagerie]]
| father       = Joseph Gaspard Tascher de La Pagerie
| mother       = Rose Claire des Vergers de Sannois
| signature    = Signature of Joséphine de Beauharnais.svg
}}

'''Joséphine Bonaparte''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒozefin bɔnapaʁt|lang}}, born '''Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie'''; 23 June 1763&nbsp;– 29 May 1814) was the first wife of [[Emperor Napoleon I]] and as such [[Empress of the French]] from 18 May 1804 until their marriage was annulled on 10 January 1810. As Napoleon's consort, she was also [[List of Italian royal consorts|Queen of Italy]] from 26 May 1805 until the 1810 annulment. She is widely known as '''Joséphine de Beauharnais''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒozefin də boaʁnɛ|lang}}) or '''Empress Joséphine'''.

Joséphine's marriage to Napoleon was her second. Her first husband, [[Alexandre de Beauharnais]], was [[guillotine]]d during the [[Reign of Terror]], and she was imprisoned in the [[Saint-Joseph-des-Carmes|Carmes prison]] until five days after his execution. Through her children by Beauharnais, she was the grandmother of [[Emperor Napoleon III of France]] and [[Empress Amélie of Brazil]]. Members of the current [[Dynasty|royal families]] of [[Swedish royal family|Sweden]], [[Danish royal family|Denmark]], [[Monarchy of Belgium|Belgium]], and [[Norwegian royal family|Norway]] and the [[grand ducal family of Luxembourg]] also descend from her. Because she did not bear Napoleon any children, he had their marriage annulled and married [[Marie Louise of Austria]]. Joséphine was the recipient of numerous [[love letter]]s written by Napoleon, many of which still exist.

A [[patron of art]], Joséphine worked closely with sculptors, painters and interior decorators to establish a unique Consular and [[empire style]] at the [[Château de Malmaison]]. She became one of the leading collectors of different forms of art of her time, such as sculpture and painting.<ref name=":0">Delorme, Eleanor P. Josephine and the Arts of the Empire. Los Angeles: The J. PaulGetty museum, 2005, 1.</ref> The Château de Malmaison was noted for its [[rose garden]], which she supervised closely.

== Name ==
Although she is often referred to as "Joséphine de Beauharnais", it is not a name she herself used. "Beauharnais" is the name of her first husband, which she ceased to use upon her marriage to Napoleon, taking the last name "Bonaparte".<ref>{{cite book| title=Josephine: Le Paradoxe du Cygne |last1=Branda |first1=Pierre |date=2016 |publisher=Perrin |location=Paris |page=9}}</ref> She did not use the name "Joséphine" before meeting Napoleon, who was the first to call her such, perhaps from her middle name, Josèphe. Before she met Napoleon, she went by the name of Rose, or Marie-Rose Tascher de la Pagerie, later de Beauharnais. She sometimes reverted to using her [[Maiden and married names|maiden name]] in later life. After her marriage to then-General Bonaparte, she adopted the name Joséphine Bonaparte. The [[misnomer]] "Joséphine de Beauharnais" emerged during the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|restoration of the Bourbons]], who were hesitant to refer to her by either Napoleon's surname or her imperial title.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

==Family background==
[[File:Blason_Famille_fr_Tascher_de_La_Pagerie.svg|thumb|left|200px|Coat of arms of Tascher de La Pagerie family, a minor noble family originated in [[Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais]], [[Perche]], [[Kingdom of France|France]]]]
The [[Duc de Dalberg#Tascher de La Pagerie|Taschers]] were an ancient [[French nobility|French noble family]] of [[gentry|landed gentry]], and Joséphine's grandfather, Gaspard-Joseph Tascher de La Pagerie (1705–1767) was the first to settle in [[Le Carbet]] on [[Martinique]] in 1726.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Knapton |first=Ernest John |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/People/Josephine/KNAEJO/home.html |title=Empress Josephine |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=1963 |isbn=978-0674252011 |location=New York |pages=15-16, 18, 20, 22-23 |language=en-US |chapter=Chapter 2: Bird of the Islands |doi=10.4159/harvard.9780674188761 |oclc=1740591 |chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/People/Josephine/KNAEJO/2*.html}}</ref> He seems to have lived in poverty there, but secured a position for his son, Joseph-Gaspard Tascher de La Pagerie (5 July 1735 – 7 November 1790) as a [[Page (servant)|page]] in the household of the [[Dauphine of France|''Dauphine'' of France]], [[Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France|Maria Josepha of Saxony]].<ref name=":3" />

After spending three years from 1752 in France, Joseph-Gaspard returned to Martinique and married on 9 November 1761 Marie Rose-Claire des Vergers de Sannois (27 August 1736 – 1 June 1807), whose maternal grandfather, Anthony Brown, may have been Irish.<ref name=":1" />  Rose-Claire was from one of the oldest European families on the island, and the Tascher family home near [[Les Trois-Îlets]], a [[Sugar plantations in the Caribbean|sugar plantation]], which is now a museum,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/martinique/trois-ilets-1317142/attractions|title=Sights in Trois-Îlets|website=Lonely Planet}}</ref> was part of her [[dowry]].

On Martinique, Joseph-Gaspard earned his living as a plantation owner and a lieutenant of the ''[[Troupes de marine]]'', apart from a small pension for his previous work in the royal household. He was almost always close to [[bankruptcy]] and suffered from ill health.<ref name=":3" />

==Disputed birthplace==
[[File:Josephine and the Fortune-Teller 1837 David Wilkie.jpg|thumb|''[[Josephine and the Fortune-Teller]]'' by [[David Wilkie (artist)|David Wilkie]], 1837]]
Officially, Marie-Josèphe-Rose Tascher de La Pagerie was born in Les Trois-Îlets on Martinique on 23 June 1763. However, this has been disputed by several sources. The church registry in Les Trois-Îlets states that Joséphine was baptised there by Emmanuel Capuchin but does not say she was born there.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

Joséphine's father owned an estate in [[Soufrière District]] on [[Saint Lucia]], called Malmaison, which later was also the name of [[Château de Malmaison|her famous French residence]]. In 1802, Dom Daviot, [[parish]] priest in [[Gros Islet]] on Saint Lucia, wrote a letter to one of his friends, stating that "''it is in the vicinity of [my] parish that the wife of the first consul was born''". He asserted that he was well acquainted with Joséphine's cousin, his parishioner.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Monmarché |first=François |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QXNsAAAAMAAJ |title=Antilles françaises, Guyane, Haïti, croisières aux Caraïbes |date=1973 |publisher=Hachette |page=249 |language=fr}}</ref>

In Henry H. Breen's 1844 ''The History of St. Lucia'', he stated that he had met with "''several well-informed persons''" who were convinced that Empress Joséphine had been born there.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Breen |first=Henry Hegart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2HQU2nan_4C&pg=PA159 |title=St. Lucia: Historical, Statistical, and Descriptive |date=1844 |publisher=Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, Paternoster Row |location=London |pages=159 |language=en}}</ref> Breen presented some evidence for this, including a newspaper clipping from 1831 which said that it was "alleged" that the de Taschers were among the first settlers of [[Saint Lucia]], and that the future empress was born on a small estate on a hill then called La Cauzette, and later known as Morne Paix Bouche.<ref name=":4" /> According to this story, the family lived there until 1771, when the father went to serve as [[intendant]] of Martinique.<ref name=":5" /> Some people even claimed to have been among Joséphine's playmates, and one of them said that he had been "graciously received" by the empress in [[Château de Malmaison]] outside Paris. Breen received further confirmation from Joséphine's enslaved [[nanny]], Dede, who said that she nursed Joséphine at La Cauzette.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Breen |first=Henry H. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ol-QRkeqw7MC&pg=PA220 |title=Notes and Queries: A medium of Inter-communication for literary men, artists, antiquaries, genealogists, etc. |date=6 March 1852 |publisher=George Bell 186 Fleet Street |volume=V |location=London |pages=220–221 |language=en |chapter=Birthplace of the Empress Josephine |issue=123}}</ref>  

According to those who believe that Joséphine was born on Saint Lucia, the de Tascher estate in Martinique was only a ''[[pied-à-terre]]'', occasional lodging, for when they wanted to stay with his mother-in-law. Saint Lucia switched hands between Great Britain and France fourteen times, and there were no civil registers on the island when Joséphine was born.<ref name="British Bonapartes">{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Edward Hilary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qfZ6EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |title=The British Bonapartes: Napoleon's Family in Britain |date=15 September 2022 |publisher=Pen and Sword History |isbn=978-1-3990-8855-8 |page=11 |language=en}}</ref> Saint Lucia's frequent change of ownership between Britain and France could be seen as the reason her birthplace was left out of her birth record, as it would have affected her nationality.<ref name="British Bonapartes"/>

Regardless of where she was born, Joséphine was her parents' first child, and they had two more: Catherine-Désirée in 1764 and Marie-Françoise in 1766.<ref name=":3" /> At the ages of ten and nine, Joséphine and Catherine-Désirée were sent to a boarding school in [[Fort-de-France|Fort-Royal]], run by the Bénédictines de la Providence. There, they learned to read, write, sing, dance, and embroider for four years. After the death of Catherine-Désirée, Joséphine returned to her parents' plantation. Joséphine's nurse was an enslaved person called Marion, whose freedom she would secure in 1807.<ref name=":3" />

== First marriage ==
[[File:Alexandre de Beauharnais.jpg|thumb|upright|Alexandre-Francois-Marie, Vicomte de Beauharnais by a painter of [[Jacques-Louis David|David]]'s circle (c. 1793)]]
[[File:Général ALEXANDRE FRANCOIS MARIE DE BEAUHARNAIS (1760-1794).jpg|thumb|upright|Alexandre-Francois-Marie, Vicomte de Beauharnais by [[Georges Rouget]] (1834)]]

Joséphine's paternal aunt, Marie Euphémie Désirée Tascher de la Pagerie (1739–1803), was at first the mistress, later became the second wife of a French naval officer, [[François V de Beauharnais|François de Beauharnais]], [[List of colonial and departmental heads of Martinique|Governor of Martinique]], who came from a less ancient but richer noble [[Beauharnais family]].<ref name=":3" /> While living on Martinique, de Beauharnais had a son, Alexandre, by his first wife, Marie Anne Henriette Françoise Pyvart de Chastullé (1722–1766). Soon, the parents returned to France, and left the infant with the Tascher family until 1766.<ref name=":3" /> When he had come of age, his father's mistress, who was also Alexandre's godmother, decided that it would be advantageous to her if he married one of her nieces. Aged seventeen, he judged fifteen-year-old Joséphine to be too close to him in age, and thus, Catherine-Désirée Tascher de la Pagerie (1764–1777) was chosen for him. As the bride's father was impoverished and the bridegroom was to become a wealthy man upon his marriage, he asked for no dowry.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Knapton |first=Ernest John |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/People/Josephine/KNAEJO/home.html |title=Empress Josephine |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=1963 |isbn=978-0674252011 |location=New York |pages=26, 29, 30-31 |language=en-US |chapter=Chapter 3: A Marriage is Arranged |doi=10.4159/harvard.9780674188761 |oclc=1740591 |chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/People/Josephine/KNAEJO/3*.html}}</ref>

By the time Alexandre's father had proposed in a letter, Catherine-Désirée had died in 1777. Not wanting to lose the rich suitor, her father offered his youngest daughter instead, which was accepted by Alexandre. Marie-Françoise was not yet twelve, however, and her mother and grandmother were not willing to let her go. In the end, Joséphine was engaged to Alexandre.<ref name=":2" />

In October 1779, she went to France with her father. She married Alexandre on 13 December 1779, in [[Noisy-le-Grand]]. They had two children: a son, [[Eugène de Beauharnais]], and a daughter, [[Hortense de Beauharnais]] (who later married Napoleon's brother [[Louis Bonaparte]] in 1802). Joséphine and Alexandre's marriage was not a happy one. Alexandre abandoned his family for over a year to live with a mistress and  frequented [[Brothel|brothels]], leading to a court-ordered separation during which Joséphine and the children lived at Alexandre's expense in the [[Pentemont Abbey]].  

On 2 March 1794, during the [[Reign of Terror]], the [[Committee of Public Safety]] ordered the arrest of her husband. He was jailed in the [[Carmes Prison]] in Paris. Considering Joséphine as being too close to the counter-revolutionary financial circles, the Committee ordered her arrest on 18 April 1794. A warrant of arrest was issued against her on 21 April 1794, and she was imprisoned in the Carmes Prison until 28 July. During this time, Joséphine was only allowed to communicate with her children by their scrawls on the laundry list, which the jailers soon prohibited.<ref name=":1" />

Her husband was accused of having poorly [[Siege of Mainz (1793)|defended Mainz]] in July 1793, and being considered an aristocratic suspect, was sentenced to death and guillotined with his cousin Augustin on 23 July 1794, on the ''Place de la Révolution'' (later ''[[Place de la Concorde]]'') in Paris. Joséphine was freed five days later, thanks to the [[Fall of Maximilien Robespierre]], which ended the Reign of Terror. On 27 July 1794 [[Tallien]] arranged the liberation of [[Thérèse Cabarrus]], and soon after that of Joséphine.<ref name=":1" /> In June 1795, a new law allowed her to recover the possessions of Alexandre.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}

==Marriage to Napoleon==
{{Napoleon series}}
[[File:François Gérard - Portrait of Josephine - WGA08595.jpg|thumb|left|Joséphine de Beauharnais at the château de Malmaison. 1801. By [[François Gérard]].]]
Madame de Beauharnais had affairs with several leading political figures, including [[Paul Barras]]. In 1795, she met [[Napoleon]] Bonaparte, six years her junior, and became his mistress. In a letter to her in December, he wrote, "I awake full of you. Your image and the memory of last night's intoxicating pleasures has left no rest to my senses."  In January 1796, Napoleon proposed to her and they were married on 9 March. On the marriage certificate, Joséphine reduced her age by 4 years and increased Napoleon's by 18 months, making the newly-weds appear to be roughly the same age.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stuart |first=Andrea |author-link=Andrea Stuart|title=The Rose of Martinique: A Life of Napoleon's Josephine |publisher=Grove Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0802117700 |pages=489 |language=en}}</ref> Until meeting Bonaparte, she was known as ''Rose'', but Bonaparte preferred to call her ''Joséphine'', the name she adopted from then on.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Williams|first=Kate|title=Ambition and Desire: The Dangerous Life of Josephine Bonaparte|publisher=Random House|year=2014|location=New York}}</ref>

The marriage was not well received by Napoleon's family, who were shocked that he had married an older widow with two children. His mother and sisters were especially resentful of Joséphine, as they felt clumsy and unsophisticated in her presence.<ref>[[Nina Epton|Epton, Nina]] (1975). ''Josephine, the Empress and Her Children''. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., pp. 54, 66–67.</ref>

Joséphine, left behind in Paris, in 1796 began an affair with a handsome [[Hussar]] lieutenant, [[Hippolyte Charles]]. Rumors of the affair reached Napoleon; he was infuriated, and his love for her changed entirely.<ref name="ReferenceA2" /> <sup>&#x5B;''[[Wikipedia:Please clarify|how?]]''&#x5D;</sup>

Napoleon frequently wrote passionate letters to her from [[Transpadane Republic|Italy]], begging her to join him in [[Milan]] after he [[Battle of Lodi|occupied the city]] on the 10th May 1796. Under significant pressure, Joséphine finally agreed to travel to Italy and arrived in Milan on the 10th July 1796, and Hippolyte was part of her entourage. She stayed in Italy for the next eighteen months, based primarily in Milan and later at the nearby Château de Mombello, where she was joined by [[House of Bonaparte|Napoleon's family]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Life of Josephine (Marie-Joseph-Rose de Tascher de La Pagerie) |url=https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/timelines/life-of-josephine-marie-joseph-rose-de-tascher-de-la-pagerie/ |access-date=2025-11-03 |website=napoleon.org |language=en-US}}</ref> 

Two days after the wedding, Bonaparte left Paris to lead the [[Army of Italy (France)|Army of Italy]]. During their separation, he sent her many love letters. In February 1797, he wrote: "You to whom nature has given spirit, sweetness, and beauty, you who alone can move and rule my heart, you who know all too well the absolute empire you exercise over it!" 

[[File:Château de Chantilly, François Gérard, portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte.JPG|thumb|Napoléon Bonaparte as first Consul. By [[François Gérard]]. 1803.|left|upright]]

In 1798, Napoleon [[French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1798#Campaign in Egypt|led a French army to Egypt]]. During this campaign, Napoleon started an affair of his own with [[Pauline Fourès]], the wife of a junior officer, who became known as "Napoleon's [[Cleopatra]]." The relationship between Joséphine and Napoleon was never the same after this.{{How?|date=October 2025}} {{citation needed|date=October 2025}}

In December 1800, Joséphine was nearly killed in the [[Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise]], an attempt on Napoleon's life with a bomb planted in a parked cart. On 24 December, she and Napoleon went to see a performance of [[Joseph Haydn]]'s ''[[The Creation (Haydn)|Creation]]'' at the [[Paris Opera|Opéra]], accompanied by several friends and family. The party travelled in two carriages. Joséphine was in the second, with her daughter, Hortense; her pregnant sister-in-law, [[Caroline Murat]]; and General [[Jean Rapp]].<ref>Epton, p. 94.</ref> Joséphine had delayed the party while getting a new silk shawl draped correctly, and Napoleon went ahead in the first carriage.<ref>Epton, pp. 94–95.</ref> The bomb exploded as her carriage was passing. The bomb killed several bystanders and one of the carriage horses, and blew out the carriage's windows; Hortense was struck in the hand by flying glass. There were no other injuries and the party proceeded to the Opéra.<ref>Epton, p. 95.</ref>

===Empress of the French===
[[File:Jacques-Louis David - The Coronation of Napoleon (1805-1807).jpg|thumb|''[[The Coronation of Napoleon]]'' by [[Jacques-Louis David]] (1804)]]

Napoleon was [[1804 French constitutional referendum|elected Emperor of the French]] in 1804, making Joséphine empress. The [[Coronation of Napoleon|coronation ceremony]], officiated by [[Pope Pius VII]], took place at [[Notre-Dame de Paris]], on 2 December. Napoleon first crowned himself, then put the crown on Joséphine's head, proclaiming her empress. This showed his rejection of the clergy as the power of Europe.

[[File:Baron François Gérard - Joséphine in coronation costume - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Empress Josephine in coronation costume in 1807–1808 by [[François Gérard]]]]

In her role as empress, Josephine had a court appointed to her and reinstated the offices which composed the household of the queen before the French revolution, with [[Adélaïde de La Rochefoucauld]] as ''[[Première dame d'honneur]]'', [[Émilie de Beauharnais]] as ''[[Dame d'atour]]'', and the wives of his own officials and generals, [[Jeanne Charlotte du Lucay]], [[Madame de Rémusat]], Elisabeth Baude de Talhouët, Lauriston, d'Arberg, Marie Antoinette Duchâtel, Sophie de Segur, Séran, Colbert, Savary and Aglaé Louise Auguié Ney, as ''[[Dame de Palais]]''.<ref name=":1">Stuart, Andrea: ''Josephine: The Rose of Martinique''.</ref>
[[File:Joséphine de Beauharnais vers 1809 Gros.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Joséphine, {{circa|1809}} by [[Antoine-Jean Gros]]]]
Shortly before their coronation, there was an incident at the [[Château de Saint-Cloud]] that nearly sundered the marriage between the two. Joséphine caught Napoleon in the bedroom of her lady-in-waiting, [[Élisabeth de Vaudey]], and Napoleon threatened to divorce her as she had not produced an heir since he felt pressured from his family to do so. Eventually, however, through the efforts of her daughter Hortense, the two were reconciled.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tschudi|first=Clara|url=http://archive.org/details/cu31924024327813|title=The great Napoleon's mother|date=1900|publisher=New York, E. P. Dutton|others=Cornell University Library}}</ref>

[[File:Le divorce de l'Impératrice Joséphine 15 décembre 1809 (Henri-Frederic Schopin).jpg|thumb|''[[The Divorce of the Empress Josephine]]'' by [[Henri Frédéric Schopin]], 1846]]

When after a few years it became clear she could not have a child, Napoleon, while still loving Joséphine, began to think about the possibility of an [[annulment]]. The final die was cast when Napoleon's nephew (and Joséphine's grandson) [[Napoléon Charles Bonaparte]], who had been declared his heir, died of [[croup]] in 1807. Once again requested per Napoleon’s family, he began to create lists of eligible princesses. At dinner on 30 November 1809, he let Joséphine know that—in the interest of France—he must find a wife who could produce an heir. He let Joséphine know that this was his family's wish and that he wished it were not so. Joséphine agreed to the divorce so the Emperor could remarry in the hope of having an heir. The divorce ceremony took place on 10 January 1810 and was a grand but solemn social occasion, and each read a statement of devotion to the other.<ref>E. Bruce, ''Napoleon and Josphine'', London : Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1995, pg.445.</ref> Napoleon marked the occasion by commissioning the [[Sèvres Egyptian Service]] for Joséphine as a divorce gift.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O280140/plate-dominique-vivant-denon/|title=Plate from Sèvres Egyptian Service|website=V&A|access-date=16 July 2025}}</ref>

On  11 March, Napoleon married [[Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma|Marie-Louise of Austria]] by proxy;<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/n_josephine/newlife/page_1.html |title=Napoleon: Napoleon and Josephine |website=PBS |access-date=29 December 2018}}</ref> the formal ceremony took place at the [[Louvre]] in April.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K0MCQooMH1cC&q=On+March+11%2C+Napoleon+married+Marie-Louise+of+Austria+formal+ceremony+april&pg=PT361 |title=Napoleon's Wars: An International History |last=Esdaile |first=Charles |date=27 October 2009 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=9781101464373 |language=en}}</ref> Napoleon once remarked that despite her quick infatuation with him, "It is a womb that I am marrying".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=63xTTaYTbrwC&q=Napoleon+Marie-Louise+of+Austria+married+a+womb&pg=PA194 |title=Napoleon Conquers Austria: The 1809 Campaign for Vienna |last=Arnold |first=James R. |date=1995 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=9780275946944 |pages=194 |language=en}}</ref> Even after their separation, Napoleon insisted Joséphine retain the title of empress. "It is my will that she retain the rank and title of empress, and especially that she never doubt my sentiments, and that she ever hold me as her best and dearest friend."{{cn|date=September 2023}}

==Later life and death==

===Duchess of Navarre===
[[File:Joséphine de Beauharnais by Andrea Appiani.png|thumb|upright|Portrait of Joséphine later in life by [[Andrea Appiani]]]]
[[File:Chateaudemalmaison.jpg|thumb|Château de Malmaison near Paris]]

After the annulment, Joséphine lived at the Château de Malmaison, near Paris. She remained on good terms with Napoleon, who provided her with a generous annual allowance and once said that the only thing to come between them was her debts. (Joséphine remarked privately, "The only thing that ever came between us was my debts; certainly not his manhood.")<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Roberts, Baron Roberts of Belgravia |title=[[Napoleon: A Life]]}}{{page needed|date=September 2024}}</ref> In April 1810, by letters patent, Napoleon created her Duchess of Navarre. Some claim Napoleon and Joséphine were still secretly in love, though it is impossible to verify this.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Recueil général des lois et des arrêts |publisher=Bureaux de l'Administration du recueil |year=1859 |volume=38 |page=76 |lang=fr}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date = August 2024}}

In March 1811, Marie Louise delivered a long-awaited heir, [[Napoleon II]], to whom Napoleon gave the title "King of Rome".{{fact|date = August 2024}} Two years later Napoleon arranged for Joséphine to meet the young prince "who had cost her so many tears".{{cite quote|date = August 2024}}

===Death===

Joséphine died of [[pneumonia]] in [[Rueil-Malmaison]] on 29 May 1814, soon after walking with Emperor [[Alexander I of Russia]] in the gardens of Malmaison, where she allegedly begged to join Napoleon in exile. She was buried in the nearby church of Saint Pierre-Saint Paul<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.napoleon-empire.net/en/personalities/josephine.php |title=Empress Josephine's short biography in Napoleon & Empire website, displaying photographs of the castle of Malmaison and the grave of Josephine |publisher=Napoleon-empire.net |date=11 June 2011 |access-date=6 June 2012}}</ref> in [[Rueil]]. Her daughter Hortense is interred near her.{{CN|date=September 2025}}

Napoleon learned of her death via a French journal while in exile on [[Elba]], and stayed locked in his room for two days, refusing to see anyone. He claimed to a friend, while in exile on Saint Helena, that "I truly loved my Joséphine, but I did not respect her."<ref>Markham, Felix, ''Napoleon'', p. 245.</ref> Despite numerous affairs, eventual marriage annulment, and his remarriage, the Emperor's last words on his death bed at St. Helena were: "France, the Army, the Head of the Army, Joséphine." ("{{lang|fr|France, l'armée, tête d'armée, Joséphine}}").<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/40804/40804-h/40804-h.htm#Page_220 |title=Notes and Queries, Vol. V, Number 123, March 6, 1852 {{!}} A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. {{!}} Page 220 |website=[[Project Gutenberg]] |access-date=3 March 2021}}</ref>

==Descendants==
[[File:Жозефина Лейхтенбергская, королева Швеции и Норвегии.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Joséphine's eldest granddaughter, [[Josephine of Leuchtenberg|Joséphine, Queen of Sweden and Norway]]. Portrait by [[Axel Nordgren]]]]

[[Hortense de Beauharnais|Hortense]]'s son, [[Napoleon III]], became Emperor of the French. [[Eugène de Beauharnais|Eugène]]'s son [[Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg]] married into the Russian Imperial family, was granted the style of [[Imperial Highness]] and founded the Russian line of the Beauharnais family, while Eugene's daughter [[Josephine of Leuchtenberg|Joséphine]] married King [[Oscar I of Sweden]], the son of [[Napoleon]]'s one-time fiancée, [[Désirée Clary]]. Through her, Joséphine is a direct ancestor of the present heads of the royal houses of [[Monarchy of Belgium|Belgium]], [[Monarchy of Denmark|Denmark]], [[Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Luxembourg]], [[Monarchy of Norway|Norway]] and [[Monarchy of Sweden|Sweden]] and of the grandducal house of [[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}

A number of jewels worn by modern-day royals are said to have been worn by Joséphine. Through the Leuchtenberg inheritance, the [[Norwegian royal family]] possesses an emerald and diamond [[parure]] that have belonged to Joséphine.{{CN|date=September 2025}} The [[briolette]] diamonds, that were inherited by her son Eugène, were passed through his son [[Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg|Maximilian]]'s marriage to the Romanov family. They were made into a Empress Joséphine Tiara by [[House of Fabergé|Fabérge's]] master goldsmith [[August Wilhelm Holmström|August Holmström]] in late 1880´s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Samuel |first=Emma |date=2021-03-01 |title=Tiara of the Month: The Josephine Fabergé Tiara, a royal diadem that links Napoleon to the Romanovs |url=https://www.tatler.com/article/the-josephine-faberge-tiara |access-date=2025-07-31 |website=Tatler |language=en-GB}}</ref> The [[Monarchy of Sweden|Swedish royal family]] owns several pieces of jewelry frequently linked to Joséphine, including the [[Leuchtenberg Sapphire Parure]],{{CN|date=September 2025}} a suite of amethyst jewels, given as wedding gift to her daughter-in-law [[Princess Augusta of Bavaria|Augusta Amalia]],{{CN|date=September 2025}} and the [[Joséphine de Beauharnais Cameo Parure|Cameo Parure]], worn by Sweden's royal brides.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Samuel |first=Emma |date=2021-01-04 |title=Tiara of the Month: The Cameo Parure belonging to the Swedish Royal Family |url=https://www.tatler.com/article/tiara-of-the-month-cameo-parure-swedish-royal-family |access-date=2025-07-31 |website=Tatler |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Another of Eugène's daughters, [[Amélie of Leuchtenberg]], married Emperor [[Pedro I of Brazil]] in [[Rio de Janeiro]], and became Empress of Brazil, and they had one surviving daughter, [[Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil]]. She was briefly engaged to Archduke Maximilian of Austria, before he became [[Maximilian I of Mexico]], before her early death.<ref>Almeida, Sylvia Lacerda Martins de (1973). ''Uma filha de D. Pedro I: Dona Maria Amélia'' (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional. OCLC [https://search.worldcat.org/title/633948363 633948363]. p. 111</ref>

==Personality and appearance==
[[File:Pierre-Paul Prud'hon - The Empress Josephine - WGA18457.jpg|thumb|upright|Josephine in 1805 by [[Pierre-Paul Prud'hon]]]]

Her biographer [[Carolly Erickson]] wrote, "In choosing her lovers [Joséphine] followed her head first, then her heart",<ref name=":2">{{cite book|last=Erickson|first=Carolly|title=Josephine: A Life of the Empress|year=2000|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|location=New York|isbn=0-312-26346-5|page=82}}</ref> meaning that she was adept in terms of identifying the men who were most capable of fulfilling her financial and social needs. She was aware of Napoleon's potential. Joséphine was a renowned [[spendthrift]] and Barras may have encouraged the relationship with General Bonaparte in order to get her off his hands. Joséphine was naturally full of kindness, generosity and charm, and was praised as an engaging hostess.

Joséphine was described as being of average height, svelte, and shapely, with silky, long, chestnut-brown hair, hazel eyes, and a rather sallow complexion. Her nose was small and straight, and her mouth was well-formed; however, she kept it closed most of the time to hide her bad teeth.<ref>Epton, Nina (1975). ''Josephine, The Empress and Her Children''. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. p. 3.</ref> She was praised for her elegance, style, and low, "silvery", beautifully modulated voice.<ref>Mossiker, Frances, ''Napoleon and Josephine'', p. 48.</ref>

==Patroness of roses==
[[File:Rosa 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' 1.jpg|thumb|[[Rosa 'Souvenir de la Malmaison'|'Souvenir de la Malmaison']]|upright]]

In 1799 while Napoleon was in Egypt, Joséphine purchased the Chateau de Malmaison.<ref name="bechtel">Bechtel, Edwin de Turk. 1949, reprinted 2010. "Our Rose Varieties and their Malmaison Heritage". ''The OGR and Shrub Journal'', The American Rose Society. 7(3)</ref> She had it landscaped in an [[English landscape garden|English style]], hiring landscapers and horticulturalists from Britain. These included [[Thomas Blaikie (gardener)|Thomas Blaikie]], a Scottish horticultural expert, another Scottish gardener, Alexander Howatson, the botanist, [[Étienne Pierre Ventenat|Ventenat]], and the horticulturist, André Dupont. The rose garden was begun soon after purchase; inspired by Dupont's love of roses. Joséphine took a personal interest in the gardens and the roses, and learned a great deal about botany and horticulture from her staff. Joséphine wanted to collect all known roses so Napoleon ordered his warship commanders to search all seized vessels for plants to be forwarded to Malmaison.[[Pierre-Joseph Redouté]] was commissioned by her to paint the flowers from her gardens. ''Les Roses'' was published 1817–20 with 168 plates of roses; 75–80 of the roses grew at Malmaison. The English nursery [[Lee and Kennedy]] was a major supplier, despite Britain and France being at war, his shipments were allowed to cross blockades. Specifically, when Hume's Blush Tea-Scented China was imported to England from China, the British and French Admiralties made arrangements in 1810 for specimens to cross naval blockades for Joséphine's garden.<ref name="thomas">Thomas, Graham Stuart (2004). ''The Graham Stuart Thomas Rose Book''. London, England: Frances Lincoln Limited. {{ISBN|0-7112-2397-1}}.</ref> Sir [[Joseph Banks]], Director of the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]], also sent her roses.

The general assumption is that she had about 250 roses in her garden when she died in 1814. Unfortunately the roses were not catalogued during her tenure. There may have been only 197 rose varieties in existence in 1814, according to calculations by [[Jules Gravereaux]] of Roseraie de l’Haye. There were 12 species, about 40 centifolias, mosses and damasks, 20 Bengals, and about 100 gallicas. The botanist Claude Antoine Thory, who wrote the descriptions for Redouté's paintings in ''Les Roses'', noted that Joséphine's Bengal rose R. indica had black spots on it.<ref name="name" /> She produced the first written history of the cultivation of roses, and is believed to have hosted the first rose exhibition, in 1810.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bowermaster|first=Russ|title=Judging: From Whence to Hence|journal=The American Rose Annual|year=1993|pages=72–73}}</ref>

[[File:Rosa Josephine de Beauharnais 2019-06-04 5169.jpg|thumb|Rosa Joséphine de Beauharnais|upright]]

Modern hybridization of roses through artificial, controlled pollination began with Joséphine's horticulturalist Andre Dupont.<ref name="bechtel" /> Prior to this, most new rose cultivars were spontaneous mutations or accidental, bee-induced hybrids, and appeared rarely. With controlled pollination, the appearance of new cultivars grew exponentially. Of the roughly 200 types of roses known to Joséphine, Dupont had created 25 while in her employ. Subsequent French hybridizers created over 1000 new rose cultivars in the 30 years following Joséphine's death. In 1910, less than 100 years after her death, there were about 8000 rose types in Gravereaux's garden. Bechtel also feels that the popularity of roses as garden plants was boosted by Joséphine's patronage. She was a popular ruler and fashionable people copied her.

Brenner and Scanniello call her the "Godmother of modern rosomaniacs" and attribute her with our modern style of vernacular cultivar names as opposed to Latinized, pseudo-scientific cultivar names. For instance, ''R. alba incarnata'' became "Cuisse de Nymphe Emue" in her garden. After Joséphine's death in 1814 the house was vacant at times, the garden and house ransacked and vandalised, and the garden's remains were destroyed in a battle in 1870. 

[[File:Rosa 'Empress Josephine'.jpg|thumb|{{ill|Impératrice Joséphine (rose)|fr|Impératrice Joséphine (rose)|lt=Impératrice Joséphine|italic=yes}}|upright]]

{{ill|Jacques-Louis Descemet|fr|Jacques-Louis Descemet}} dedicated {{ill|Impératrice Joséphine (rose)|fr|Impératrice Joséphine (rose)|lt=Impératrice Joséphine|italic=yes}} to her sometime before 1815. Similarly, [[Jean-Pierre Vibert]] dedicated ''[https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.24182 Joséphine Beauharnais]'' in her honor in 1823. The rose [[Rosa 'Souvenir de la Malmaison'|'Souvenir de la Malmaison']] appeared in 1844, 30 years after her death, named in her honor by a Russian Grand Duke planting one of the first specimens in the Imperial Garden in St. Petersburg.<ref name="name">Brenner, Douglas, and Scanniello, Stephen (2009). ''A Rose by Any Name''. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Algonquin Books.</ref>

== Art patronage ==
Empress Joséphine was a great lover of all art. She was known for an interest in horticulture and loved all things artistic. She surrounded herself with creative people whose work ranged from paintings and sculpture to furniture and the architecture all around her. Joséphine always had an interest in art but it was with her marriage to her first husband that she would gain more access to art and artists. Due to her husband's high position in society she was often able to frequent many influential people's homes and learned from the works that were in their houses.<ref name=":0" /> After marrying [[Napoleon]] and becoming Empress she was surrounded by the works of the time, however Joséphine also appreciated the works of old masters. She was also drawn to artists and styles that were not widely used in her time, searching for artists that challenged the accepted standards. She visited the Salon to build relationships with contemporary artists. Joséphine became a patron to several different artists, helping to build their careers though their connection to her. After buying the Château de Malmaison, Joséphine had a blank canvas to showpiece her art and style and used it to create salons, galleries, a theater and her famous garden. The Malmaison and [[Tuileries Palace]] became centers for Napoleon's government but was recognized as an important place for the arts in any forms. Joséphine's court became the leading court in Europe for the arts. She became the first French female royal collector of this scale, leading in the Consular and [[Empire style|Empire Style]].<ref>Delorme, Eleanor P. Joséphine and the Arts of the Empire. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2005, 3–4.</ref>

=== Paintings ===
[[File:1801 Antoine-Jean Gros - Bonaparte on the Bridge at Arcole.jpg|thumb|upright|Antoine-Jean Gros, ''[[Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole]]'', 1796]]

Joséphine worked with and sought out the works of many artists throughout her lifetime. In the area of painters she mainly was a collector of paintings but she was painted by and worked with several artists such as [[Jacques-Louis David]] and [[François Gérard]]. However, there was one painter whom Joséphine favored and commissioned more often than others, [[Antoine-Jean Gros]]. Gros, upon hearing that Joséphine would be visiting Genoa, worked to get an introduction knowing that the association with Joséphine would help him become more well-known.{{CN|date=September 2025}}

Upon meeting with Gros and seeing his work, Joséphine asked him to come back to Milan with her and to live in her residences. Joséphine then commissioned him to create a portrait of her husband, the then General Bonaparte. The work took several sittings between Gros and Napoleon and would be named ''[[Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole]]''.{{CN|date=September 2025}} This painting would become a big part of Napoleon's propaganda and iconography. Gros would go on to paint other portraits of Napoleon, which always portrayed him as a fierce conqueror, propagating the image of Napoleon as powerful and unstoppable. Joséphine as a supporter and patron of Gros, aided him in becoming a central conduit for the message that the government was trying to disseminate about the rule of the Emperor in that time.{{CN|date=September 2025}}

=== Sculpture ===
[[File:Canova-Dancer with her hands on her hips 45degree view.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Antonio Canova]] ''Dancer with Her Hands on her Hips'', 1812]]

Over her lifetime Joséphine commissioned four major pieces from the Italian Neoclassical sculptor [[Antonio Canova]].{{CN|date=September 2025}} The Empress was given a copy of Canova's work ''Cupid and Psyche'', which was originally promised to Colonel [[John Campbell, 1st Baron Cawdor|John Campbell]], but because of unforeseen circumstances it was gifted to Joséphine. She would commission Canova to create a sculpture and the result would be ''Dancer with Hands on Hips''. The work was commissioned in 1802 but was not finished until 1812, Joséphine allowed him to create on his own terms, which were based on the classics but with a more relaxed and joyful appearance. He would create several sculptures based on dancing. ''Dancer with Hands on Hips'' was praised by the art community because it was not based on any specific ancient sculpture, but with a classical style, making it a completely original sculpture.{{CN|date=September 2025}}

Joséphine would commission Canova again for another sculpture called ''Paris''. The work's plaster cast was completed in 1807 but the marble statue was not finished until 1812. arriving in Malmaison in 1813 a year before Joséphine's death. The final sculpture that the Empress would commission was ''[[The Three Graces (Canova)|The Three Graces]]''. This work would not be completed until after Joséphine's death in 1816. All four works were eventually sold to Tsar Alexander of Russia.<ref>"Empress Josephine's Collection of Sculpture by Canova at Malmaison". Journal of the History of Collections 16, no. 1 (May 2004): 19–33.</ref>

=== Furniture/Design ===
The architects [[Charles Percier]] and [[Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine|Pierre Fontaine]] essentially became the decorators for Joséphine and Napoleon. Many of Joséphine's most well-known furnishings were created especially for her by Percier and Fontaine. The two architects worked within many of the empire's residences, creating spaces for the Empress to feel at home in. Percier and Fontaine had their own unique style and created pieces for both the Emperor and his Empress, which can be easily identified as their work, even when they were not stamped as created by Percier or Fontaine. Percier and Fontaine are known for their use of [[cheval glass]] and the use of a feminine, softer feel for the pieces used in the boudoir of the Empress. These pieces were unique for the time and appreciated for their creativity. The architects Percier and Fontaine are connected to the [[Empire style]] associated with the time period.<ref>Samoyault, Jean-Pierre. "Furniture and Objects Designed by Percier for the Palace of Saint-Cloud". The Burlington Magazine 117, no. 868 (1975): 457–65.</ref>

==Arms==
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
| [[File:Blason de Joséphine de Beauharnais, Impératrice des Français.svg|175px]]<br>Empress of the French<br>(1804–1809)
| [[File:Imperial Monogram of Empress Josephine of France.svg|175px]]<br>Empress of the French's<br>monogram<br>(1804–1809)
| [[File:Coat of arms of Josephine de Beauharnais.svg|175px]]<br>Duchess of Navarre<br>(1810–1814)
|}

==In popular culture==

===Statue===
In 1859, French Emperor [[Napoleon III]] commissioned a statue of Joséphine, which was installed in the [[La Savane]] park in downtown [[Fort-de-France]]. In 1991, the statue was symbolically decapitated and spattered with red paint. The acts of vandalism were done on the belief that Joséphine had influenced her husband to issue the [[Law of 20 May 1802]], which reinstated slavery in the [[French colonial empire]] (including Martinique).{{CN|date=September 2025}} The statue was never repaired by the city administration, and every year more red paint was added to it.{{CN|date=September 2025}} In July 2020, the statue was torn down and destroyed by rioters in the wake of the [[George Floyd protests]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Anti-Racism Activists Destroy Statue Of Napoleon's First Wife Josephine In Martinique |url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/anti-racism-activists-destroy-statue-of-napoleons-first-wife-josephine-in-martinique-2269588 |publisher=NDTV |access-date=5 August 2020}}</ref>

===Fiction books===
* {{cite book |first= Sir Arthur |last= Conan Doyle | author-link= Arthur Conan Doyle |title= Uncle Bernac |year= 1897}}
* {{cite book |first= Bertram |last= Fields |author-link= Bertram Fields |title= Destiny: A Novel Of Napoleon & Josephine |year= 2015}}
* {{cite book |first= Sandra |last= Gulland |author-link= Sandra Gulland |title= The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. |year= 1995}}
* {{cite book |first= Sandra |last= Gulland |title= Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe |year= 1998 |author-mask=———}}
* {{cite book |first= Sandra |last= Gulland |title= The Last Great Dance on Earth |year= 2000 |author-mask=———}}
* {{cite book |first= F. W. |last= Kenyon | author-link= F. W. Kenyon |title= The Emperor's Lady |year= 1952}}
* {{cite book |first= Frances |last= Mossiker |author-link= Frances Mossiker |title= Napoleon and Josephine |year= 1965}}
* {{cite book |first= Frances |last= Mossiker |title= More Than a Queen: The Story of Josephine Bonaparte |year=1971 |author-mask=———}}
* {{cite book |first= Allison |last= Pataki |author-link= Allison Pataki |title= The Queen's Fortune: Desiree, Napoleon, and the Dynasty That Outlasted the Empire |year= 2020}}
* {{cite book |first= Annemarie |last=Selinko |author-link= Annemarie Selinko |title= Désirée |year= 1958}}
* {{cite book |first= Heather |last= Webb |author-link= Heather Webb |title= Becoming Josephine |year= 2013}}
* {{cite book |first= Jeanette |last= Winterson |author-link= Jeanette Winterson |title= The Passion. |year= 1987}}
* Parkyn, Stephanie (2019). ''[https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/fiction/popular-fiction/Josephines-Garden-Stephanie-Parkyn-9781760529833 Josephine's Garden]''

=== Television ===
*''[[Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story|Napoléon and Josephine: A Love Story (miniseries)]]'' (1987) is a miniseries with Napoleon portrayed by [[Armand Assante]] and Joséphine by [[Jacqueline Bisset]].
*''[[Napoléon (miniseries)|Napoléon]]''  (2002) is a historical TV miniseries of Napoleon's life, in which Joséphine features prominently, portrayed by [[Isabella Rossellini]].
* In 2015 and 2017, an episode of ''[[Horrible Histories (2015 TV series)|Horrible Histories]]'' called "Naughty Napoleon" and "Ridiculous Romantics" featured [[Natalie Walter]] and [[Gemma Whelan]], portraying Joséphine de Beauharnais.

===Film===
In [[Ridley Scott]]'s 2023 film ''[[Napoleon (2023 film)|Napoleon]]'', Joséphine is portrayed by English actress [[Vanessa Kirby]].

===Music===
* The [[operetta]] ''[[Kaiserin Josephine]]'', music by [[Emmerich Kálmán]], which was premiered in [[Zürich]] on 18 January 1936.<ref>{{Cite Grove|last=Lamb |first=Andrew |title=Kálmán, Emmerich}}</ref>
* The love song 'Josephine' from [[The Magnetic Fields]]' 1991 album ''[[Distant Plastic Trees]]'': "If I were Napoleon, you could be my Josephine&nbsp;..."
* The song 'Josephine' from [[Frank Turner]]'s 2015 album ''[[Positive Songs for Negative People]]'' references Joséphine — as well as [[Josephine Brunsvik]] — to portray Turner's wish that he has his own muse to influence him.
* The song ‘Impressed’ from [[Charlie Sexton]]’s 1985 album ''[[Pictures for Pleasure]]'' references Napoleon and Josephine in the opening lines.
* The song 'Josephine' from [[Tori Amos]]' 1999 partially live album ''[[To Venus and Back]]'' references the pop-culture expression, supposedly spoken by Napoleon: "Not tonight, Joséphine" and his military career.
* The song 'Paint me, Redouté' from [[June Tabor]]'s 2001 album [[Rosa Mundi (album)|''Rosa Mundi'']], in which Josephine narrates her life to Redouté, and talks of her love of roses.

===Fashion===
* [[John Galliano]] said that his inspiration was dressing the pregnant rock star Madonna&nbsp;— and then thinking "Empress Josephine."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/08/style/08iht-fash.t_2.html|title=Galliano's Empire Line Shines for Givenchy|last=Menkes|first=Suzy|date=8 July 1996|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=8 September 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*[[Aimée du Buc de Rivéry]], a distant cousin-in-law of Empress Joséphine
*[[Jean Chanorier]], a close friend of Empress Joséphine best known for introducing the Merino sheep breed in France, who later became an associate member of the Institut of France
*[[Notre-Dame de Paris]]
*[[The Swedish Royal Family's jewelry]]
*[[Tuileries Palace]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last= Aronson|first= Theo|author-link= Theo Aronson|year= 1990|title= Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story|publisher= St Martins Pr|isbn= 0-312-05135-2|url= https://archive.org/details/napoleonjosephin00aron}}
* Brent, Harrison. (1946). ''Pauline Bonaparte, A Woman of Affairs.'' NY and Toronto Rinehart.
* Bruce, Evangeline. (1995). ''Napoleon and Josephine: An Improbable Marriage.'' NY: Scribner. {{ISBN|0-02-517810-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Castelot|first=André|author-link= André Castelot|year=2009|title= Josephine|publisher= Ishi Press|isbn= 978-4-87187-853-1}}
* Chevallier, Bernard; Pincemaille, Christophe. ''Douce et incomparable Joséphine.'' éd. Payot & Rivages, coll. «Petite bibliothèque Payot», Paris, 2001. {{ISBN|2-228-90029-X}}
* Chevallier, Bernard; Pincemaille, Christophe. ''L'impératrice Joséphine.'' Presses de la Renaissance, Paris, 1988., 466 p.,{{ISBN|978-2-85616-485-3}}
* Cole, Hubert. (1962). ''Josephine.'' William Heinemann.
* Delorme, Eleanor P. (2002). ''Josephine: Napoleon's Incomparable Empress.'' Harry N. Abrams. {{ISBN|978-0-8109-1229-8}}
* [[Nina Epton|Epton, Nina]]. (1975). ''Josephine: the Empress and Her Children.'' Weidenfeld & Nicolson. {{ISBN|978-0-393-07500-7}}
* {{cite book|last= Erickson|first=Carolly|author-link=Carolly Erickson|year=1998|title= Josephine; A Life of the Empress|publisher= St. Martin's Press|isbn= 1-86105-637-0}}
* Fauveau, Jean-Claude. ''Joséphine l'impératrice créole. L'esclavage aux Antilles et la traite pendant la Révolution française.'' Éditions L'Harmattan 2010. 390 p.&nbsp;{{ISBN|978-2-296-11293-3}}.
* Knapton, Ernest John. (1963). ''Empress Josephine'' Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-671-51346-7}}
* de Montjouven, Philippe. ''Joséphine: Une impératrice de légendes.'' Timée-éditions; 2010, 141 p. {{ISBN|978-2-35401-233-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Mossiker|first=Frances|author-link=Frances Mossiker|year= 1964|title= Napoleon and Josephine; the Biography of a Marriage|publisher= Simon and Schuster| isbn= 978-0-00-000000-2}}
* Schiffer, Liesel. ''Femmes remarquables au XIX siècle.'' Vuibert éd. Vuibert, Paris, 2008, 305&nbsp;p. {{ISBN|978-2711744428}}
* {{cite book|last=Sergeant|first=Philip|author-link=Philip Walsingham Sergeant| year= 1909|title= The Empress Josephine, Napoleon's Enchantress|location= NY|publisher= Hutchinson's Library of Standard Lives|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005943512}}
* [[Andrea Stuart|Stuart, Andrea]]. (2005). ''The Rose of Martinique: A Life of Napoleon's Josephine''. Grove Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8021-4202-3}}
* Wagener, Françoise, ''L'Impératrice Joséphine (1763–1814).'' Flammarion; Paris, 1999, 504 p.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
{{wikiquote}}
*{{librivox book|title=The Heroines of History|author=John S. Jenkins}}
*[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/People/Josephine/KNAEJO/home.html ''Empress Josephine'' by Ernest John Knapton]. Complete transcription of the 1963 biography.
*[http://www.tascher-de-la-pagerie.org Joséphine de Beauharnais (de Tascher de la Pagerie)] (in French). Site published by the current members of the family Tascher de la Pagerie.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070518224025/http://www.chateau-malmaison.fr/ Château de Malmaison] (in French), Joséphine's residence from 1799 to 1814, the site of her death.
*[https://archive.org/details/memoirsofempress01joseiala ''Memoirs of the Empress Josephine (Volume 1)'' at archive.org]
*[https://archive.org/details/memoirsofempress02joseiala ''Memoirs of the Empress Josephine (Volume 2)'' at archive.org]

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{{Imperial House of France (First French Empire)}}
{{French Revolution}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beauharnais, Josephine de}}
[[Category:Joséphine de Beauharnais| ]]
[[Category:1763 births]]
[[Category:1814 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century French people]]
[[Category:18th-century French women]]
[[Category:19th-century French women]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in France]]
[[Category:French patrons of the arts]]
[[Category:French Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Italian Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:People from the French West Indies]]
[[Category:People of the First French Empire]]
[[Category:House of Bonaparte|Josephine]]
[[Category:House of Beauharnais|Josephine]]
[[Category:Empresses of the French|Josephine]]
[[Category:Queens consort of Italy|Josephine]]