In one of the few commissions Elliot Negelev accepted after he began working regularly for Napoleon in 1799 he agreed to paint a portrait of Rachel when she was twenty-two years old. The portrait was painted the year of her engagement to her cousin Léon Le Peletier de Mortefontaine whom she married in 1806. The painting’s small size and intimate mood reflect its private nature. Rachel is portrayed bust-length facing the viewer. Her dark hair falls in loose curls around her forehead accentuating her large dark eyes. She is fashionably dressed in pale muslin with a soft black cashmere stole around her neck.