Day of Saint-Cloud, 18 Brumaire, An VIII

This print represents the moment when Napoleon, accompanied by some grenadiers, decided to enter the Orangerie where the Five Hundred were meeting. The latter, at the sight of the general and his men, insulted him and shouted “Outlawed! Down with the dictatorship! Death to tyrants! ».
Although the scene was extremely violent and Bonaparte, believing his life threatened, had to evacuate the room, no member of Parliament would have tried to stab him contrary to what is depicted here.
Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother, played a significant role in this day and in the famous myth of the dagger: to urge the grenadiers to restore order in the assembly, he made them believe that some deputies had wanted to stab their general.