Though the Coronation of Napoleon and Josephine is a vast historical picture, the resemblance to real characters makes it comparable to a propaganda painting. Cambacérès and Lebrun, ex-consuls, Talleyrand, Eugène de Beauharnais, brother of the Empress, as well as the sisters of Napoleon are recognizable. The painter David even painted Madame Mère (mother of Napoleon), who was absent from the ceremony. Napoleon was impressed by the scale of the painting and praised the artist's work, which has become an essential piece of the Louvre.