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Description: | Mezzotint . Napoleon Bonaparte wears the uniform of the Chasseurs and stands in a ship’s gangway, leaning his right elbow on a bulwark. In 1815 Napoleon surrendered to Captain Frederick Maitland of the ‘Bellerophon’ during the Battle of Waterloo. He was detained on the ship in Plymouth Sound. In July 1815, C. L. Eastlake was among thousands of people who travelled to the ‘Bellerophon’ in small boats to catch a glimpse of the fallen emperor. Bonaparte appeared for sightseers at about 6pm each evening. Noticing a young artist sketching him each day, Napoleon held his pose for and also arranged for his uniform and decorations to be sent to Eastlake. Eastlake produced two portraits. The best-known shows Napoleon with his fellow French prisoners and British sailors (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich).
This engraving was produced from Eastlake’s earlier, smaller portrait. The work was taken aboard the ‘Eurotas’, on which several of Napoleon’s officers were being held; one of whom pronounced Eastlake’s portrait ‘the best resemblance I've seen’. The painting also received considerable attention and praise when exhibited at a gallery in Piccadilly in 1815. Eastlake is the only British painter to have painted Napoleon from life. | Subjects: | HMS 'Bellerophon' bicorn mast deck (ship) ship Napoléon I (Napoléon Bonaparte) Emperor male portrait epaulettes | Temporal: | 1816 | Source: | Government Art Collection | Creator: | Charles Turner (Engraver) | Identifier: | http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/work.aspx?... | Go to resource |
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