Joseph-Eugène Lacroix

Born in Paris, Lacroix was brought to Rome as a young boy with his mother who was a lady in waiting to Queen Hortense of Holland. His childhood was spent in the close circle of Queen Hortense and her son Prince Louis Napoleon (later Napoleon III). Lacroix studied architecture in Paris under Simon Claude Constant-Dufeux and as the watercolor's dedication suggests, this relationship began under more informal terms in Rome. Lacroix received considerable professional appointments under the Second Empire, including head architect in charge of the renovation of the Élysée Place and designer of several tombs for the Bonaparte family. Much is written about Eugène's sister, Hortense Cornu (1809-1875), who was... more.