Paintings : 20
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Painting“General Bonaparte in the Council of the Five Hundred, at Saint-Cloud, 10 November 1799”
This oil-on-canvas painting by François Bouchot (1800-1842) was executed in 1840 as a result of a commission in 1838 by King Louis-Philippe. The latter was attempting to harness in his favour a contemporary wave of nostalgia for Napoleon, in the wake of his dedication of the château de Versailles to all the glories of France. The painting […]
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PaintingNapoleon I on his Imperial Throne
This painting, one of the best-known representations of Emperor Napoleon I, was Ingres’ second portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte. The promising young student of David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867), was one of several artists to receive an official commission to portray Napoleon dressed in one of the many different Coronation robes that the Emperor wore during the […]
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Painting / Directory / 1st EmpireInterior [a view of the room at Longwood where Napoleon died on St Helena]
The Comte de Las Cases described the configuration of the rooms at Longwood House in the Memorial as follows: “The entrance to the house was through a room which had just been built, and which was intended to answer the double purpose of an anti-chamber and a dining-room. This apartment led to another, which was […]
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Painting / 2nd Republic / 2nd EmpireThe Congress of Paris, 25 February – 30 March 1856
Édouard-Louis Dubufe was the son of the painter Claude-Marie-Paul Dubufe and a student of Jacques-Louis David. When this painting was commissioned for Versailles, Dubufe had already produced famous portraits such as that of the dramatic actress Rachel in 1850 and the portrait of the Empress Eugenie in 1854. A highly political picture The painting commemorated […]
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Painting / Directory / 1st EmpireThe Meeting of Wellington and Blücher after the Battle of Waterloo
See this painting in HD Following the destruction of the old London Houses of Parliament in a fire in 1834, the new “Mother of Parliaments” was rebuilt and decorated in the 1850s. For the Royal Gallery, the Fine Arts Commission (led by Prince Albert) decided on a decorative scheme of 18 monumental frescos illustrating British […]
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Painting / Directory / 1st EmpireThe Congress of Vienna
Jean-Baptiste Isabey began his career at the court of Versailles during the Ancien Régime and became one of Napoleon Bonaparte’s official painters. He was one of the only artists given privileged access to the First Consul at Malmaison, and as a result he created the iconic early view of Napoleon. Isabey was a pupil of […]
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Painting / Directory / 1st EmpireThe Rotunda, Decorated with Tapestries, which Greeted Guests on their Arrival at Notre-Dame for the Coronation of Napoleon as Emperor
This pen, ink and watercolour drawing depicts the rear façade of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame (referred to at the time as the Metropolitan Church of Paris) as it appeared on 2 December 1804 for the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor of the French. The east end of Notre-Dame has been augmented with a rotunda, […]
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Painting / Directory / 1st EmpireThe Oath (Napoleon’s Coronation, 2 December 1804)
Seated on the great throne at the west end of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Napoleon raises his right hand to swear his constitutional oath. To his right, in a smaller throne, is Josephine. They are surrounded by princes, dignitaries and generals who all turn their attention to this dramatic gesture. It is 2 December 1804, […]
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Painting / Directory / 1st Empire1814, The French Campaign
Ernest Meissonier is famous for his military paintings, and he soon attracted a following fascinated by his care for detail and the realism of his uniforms. And one of his most famous paintings, 1814, the French Campaign, singlehandedly revolutionised the genre of war painting. For there he concentrates not on the action and the fighting […]
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PaintingThe Battle of Marengo
The French Revolutionary Wars enabled Swebach to practise his talent as a draughtsman very early on, sketching from life, in pencil or ink, scenes which were then reworked in wash or watercolour. The Napoleonic campaigns next offered him multiple subjects and, abandoning the military anecdote for a while, he made a little foray into historical […]