Fourier, in his prefect's outfit, Pierre-Claude Gautherot, circa 1806

Depiction of joseph fourier by artist claude gautherot. The painting depicts fourier at age 34 when he was appointed prefect of isère, with the attributes of his office: the coat, the hat and the sword. Behind him, plato and cicero mark his taste for the classical humanities; he is holding newton's principia, open to one of the figures that support the demonstration of the elliptical motion of the planets from the law of universal attraction. Object Type: painting. Date: circa 1806. Medium: oil on canvas. Collection: Français : Musée d'Auxerre. Fourier in his coat of prefect