Engraving representing Napoleon’s body laid out on his camp-bed used at the battle of Austerlitz, after a drawing made from life

Artist(s) : MARRYAT Frederick
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General Bertrand in his notes (page 261, Les Cahiers, 6 May 1821) mentions: “At 10 o’clock Mr Ibbetson and the frigate captain Marryat came to draw the Emperor on his deathbed. It appears Mr Marryat had achieved a fairly good likeness”.

Numerous copies and versions of Marryat’s drawings were published in the weeks and months following the news that the Emperor had died.

Clieck here for one of the drawn versions.

Engraving representing Napoleon’s body laid out on his camp-bed used at the battle of Austerlitz, after a drawing made from life

Engraving published in London on 16 July 1821, (by S&J Fuller, Rathbone Place), this copy is mounted on a card with the inscription in French:

“Gravure représentant l’Empereur Napoléon étendu sur son lit de camp d’Austerlitz, 1821, dessiné par Frederick Marryat capitaine de vaisseau de la marine anglaise, (14 heures après sa mort) à la requête de Sir Hudson Lowe, gouverneur de Sainte-Hélène, avec la permission du Comte Montholon et du Général Bertrand.”

[translation: “Engraving representing Napoleon’s body laid out on his camp-bed used at the battle of Austerlitz, drawn by Mr. [Frederick] Marryat, captain in the British navy (14 hours after his death), at the request of Sir Hudson Lowe, Governor of St Helena, with the permission of the Comte de Montholon and of Général Bertrand”]

This file is part of our Close-up on the death of Napoleon.

Date :
1821
Technique :
engraving
Place held :
Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Photo credit :
© BnF-Gallica
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