A French painter of portraits, allegorical subjects and miniatures, Constance Mayer was born in 1775 to an important family. She studied under Jean Baptiste Greuze and learned techniques to convey sentimentality and vulnerability. After the Reign of Terror ended, portraits once again became popular and she found some success through exhibitions, though she was marketed as a student of Greuze so as not to identify her gender. A woman with a paintbrush! Whats next? Dogs and cats living together? She eventually studied under Prudhon whose wife was not very happy at the arrangement. Prudhon had his wife shipped off to an asylum and gained custody of his children. Buddies with Napoleon, the Emperor gave him an apartment in the Sorbonne and then gave one to Mayer too. She served as Prudhons assistant, housekeeper and even helped raise his children. She found greater acclaim for her work during this period, though much of the work wouldnt be attributed to her until after her death. When Prudhons wife died, Mayer expected that she would get to marry the charming man, but that wouldnt happen. Distraught, she slit her own throat.
