Two portraits of Francesca Lechi
1. By Giovanni Battista Gigola, 1800
2. By Andrea Appiani, 1803
Francesca Lechi was involved in Napoleonic events in Italy, such as the Revolution in Brescia, which took place when Napoleon’s army entered the region in 1797. She met Joachim Murat at a ball, and the two had an affair. She even followed him to Paris, until her husband wrote to Napoleon complaining of the situation. She was active in political events, procuring the fabric used for the tricolor flag hoisted on the Broletto in Brescia.
Stendhal, in Vie de Napoléon, said of her:
“Countess Gherardi, daughter of Count Lecchi, had perhaps the most beautiful eyes in Brescia, the land of beautiful eyes. She added to all her father’s genius a gentle cheerfulness, a real simplicity, which was never altered.”
(Source)