Napoleon I at Fontainebleau on March 31, 1814 | |
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Artist | Paul Delaroche |
Year | 1840 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 180.5 cm× 137.5 cm(71.1 in× 54.1 in) |
Location | Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig |
Napoleon I at Fontainebleau on March 31, 1814 (also known as Napoleon Abdicating at Fontainebleau or Napoleon at Fontainebleau) is an oil on canvas painting by the French painter Paul Delaroche, created in 1840. Not coincidentally the work was made in the same year that the Retour des cendres (return of the ashes), or the return of Napoleon's mortal remains from the island of Saint Helena took place. The original of the painting is held at the Museum der bildenden Künste, in Leipzig, while there are copies at the Army Museum, in Paris, [1] [2] and in the British Royal Collection, on display at Buckingham Palace. [3]
The painting documents an historical event, when Napoleon, after the fall of Paris, on March 31, 1814, was forced to abdicate on April 4, to his young son, Napoleon II, and finally, and without conditions, on April 6. He would be sent into exile to the Italian island of Elba, of which he would be made a sort of honorary king.
The painting depicts Napoleon in a room of the Palace of Fontainebleau. He appears with a thoughtful expression, while he sits informally in a chair. He has the appearance of someone who has just returned from combat, while he also wears his uniform of colonel of the horse grenadiers of the Imperial Guard, with his grey frock coat. The Emperor wears dirty boots and his hat lies on the ground. The character contrasts with the apparent luxury of the decor. [4] [5]
The work has been described as being somewhere in between the psychological portrait and the history painting. It illustrates a scene of isolation of the Emperor described by Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne at his Mémoires. [6]
The subject had already been addressed by Delaroche's father-in-law, Horace Vernet, in his painting Les Adieux de Fontainebleau (1825). [7]
The painting was acquired by the German art collector and merchant Adolf Heinrich Schletter from the artist himself. He would become the patron of the Museum der bildenden Künste, in Leipzig, due to his gift of French artworks, in 1858. [8]
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located 55.5 kilometres (34.5 mi) south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau. The commune has the largest land area in the Île-de-France region; it is the only one to cover a larger area than Paris itself. The commune is closest to Seine-et-Marne Prefecture, Melun.
Napoleon II was the disputed Emperor of the French for a few weeks in 1815. He was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Marie Louise, daughter of Emperor Francis I of Austria. Napoleon II had been Prince Imperial of France and King of Rome since birth. After the fall of his father, he lived the rest of his life in Vienna and was known in the Austrian court as Franz, Duke of Reichstadt for his adult life. He was posthumously given the nickname L'Aiglon after the popular Edmond Rostand play, L'Aiglon.
Marie Louise was an Austrian archduchess who reigned as Duchess of Parma from 11 April 1814 until her death. She was Napoleon's second wife and as such Empress of the French and Queen of Italy from their marriage on 1 April 1810 until his abdication on 6 April 1814.
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