"Portrait of a black woman" now known as "Portrait of Madeleine" 1800. By Marie Guillemine Benoist, Louvre Museum.

This work was painted six years after the abolition of slavery in the French colonies and symbolized the emancipation of black people.

With this work the author broke the habit of Western painters to represent the inhabitants of non-European countries in exotic costumes. It was also the first time that a black woman occupied the center of a portrait. The young woman portrayed was named Magdalena and was in the service of the artist's brother-in-law.

Only two years after presenting the painting Napoleon reestablished slavery, which was not definitively abolished until 1848.