Henriette Rath

Henriette Rath (11 May 1772 - 24 November 1856) was a Swiss portrait artist who worked in enamel and oil painting. She was a pupil of Jean-Baptiste Isabey and the first woman to be made an honorary member of the Société des Arts. Rath worked and exhibited in Russia, France and Switzerland. Through an inheritance from her brother and the sale of several of her artworks, Rath and her sister founded the Musée Rath, a museum of art in Geneva, Switzerland, which remains open to the present day.

Biography
Rath was born Jeanne Henriette Rath on 11 May 1772 in Geneva, Switzerland. She was the daughter of Jean-Louis, a watch dealer, and Alexandrine Sarah Rolland. Her family was originally from Nîmes, France, who took refuge in Switzerland fleeing from the persecution of Protestants in 1705.

She began in drawing lessons with Renée Sarasin-Bordier and in 1798 she began as a pupil in France with Jean-Baptiste Isabey. Isabey introduces Rath to the Russian imperial family, who she paints both copies and portraits for. In 1799, she became a member of the committee for the Académie des jeunes filles der Société des Arts in Geneva. She taught young women to draw alongside Louise-Françoise Mussard, Élisabeth Terroux and Jeanne-Pernette Schenker-Massot, all of whom were miniatrists like Rath. In 1801, she was the first woman made an honorary member of the Société des Arts.

In 1810, she travelled to Russia with her brother, Simon. In 1813, she painted for Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in Bern. She then travelled on to Italy (1815) and Lyon.

In 1826, she and her sister Jeanne Françoise founded the Musée Rath, using an inheritance from their brother Simon, who was a lieutenant general in the Russian service and died in 1819, and from the sale of several of Henriette Rath's paintings. In 1851, the Musée Rath came under the ownership of the City of Geneva against their wishes and has remained to the present day. Rath died in Geneva on 24 November 1856. She is buried in Cimetière des Rois with her brother, Simon.

Artworks
Rath was a portrait painter that produced enamels, miniatures and oil paintings. She exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1801, 1809 and 1810. From 1816 to 1851, she exhibited regularly in Société des Arts. She also exhibited in Geneva, Zurich and Bern. Several of her portraits were also reproduced as engravings.

Legacy
In 2019, Rue de la Corraterie in Geneva was renamed Rue Jeanne-Henriette Rath as part of the 100Elles initiative.