1814 (MDCCCXIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar, the 1814th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 814th year of the 2nd millennium, the 14th year of the 19th century, and the 5th year of the 1810s decade. As of the start of 1814, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.
The Battle of Brienne saw an Imperial French army led by Emperor Napoleon attack Prussian and Russian forces commanded by Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. After heavy fighting that went on into the night, the French seized a château, nearly capturing Blücher. However, the French were unable to dislodge the Russians from the town of Brienne-le-Château. Napoleon himself, making his first appearance on a battlefield in 1814, was also nearly captured. Very early the next morning, Blücher's troops quietly abandoned the town and retreated to the south, conceding the field to the French.
The Battle of Craonne was a battle between an Imperial French army under Emperor Napoleon I opposing a combined army of Imperial Russians and Prussians led by Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. The War of the Sixth Coalition engagement began when the bulk of Napoleon's army tried to drive Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov's 22,000 Russians off the Chemin des Dames plateau to the west of Craonne. After a bitter struggle, Napoleon's attacks compelled Vorontsov's force to withdraw, but French casualties exceeded Russian losses. While the battle raged, Blücher's attempt to turn Napoleon's east flank ended in failure due to poor planning.
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings. Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, and can serve a political purpose, be drawn solely for entertainment, or for a combination of both. Caricatures of politicians are commonly used in newspapers and news magazines as political cartoons, while caricatures of movie stars are often found in entertainment magazines. In literature, a caricature is a distorted representation of a person in a way that exaggerates some characteristics and oversimplifies others.
James Gillray was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810. Many of his works are held at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Thomas Rowlandson was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation. A prolific artist and printmaker, Rowlandson produced both individual social and political satires, as well as a large number of illustrations for novels, humorous books, and topographical works. Like other caricaturists of his age such as James Gillray, his caricatures are often robust or bawdy. Rowlandson also produced highly explicit erotica for a private clientele; this was never published publicly at the time and is now only found in a small number of collections. His caricatures included those of people in power such as the Duchess of Devonshire, William Pitt the Younger and Napoleon Bonaparte.
George Cruikshank or Cruickshank was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached an international audience.
In the War of the Sixth Coalition, sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, Great Britain, Portugal, Sweden, Sardinia, and a number of German States defeated France and drove Napoleon into exile on Elba. After the disastrous French invasion of Russia of 1812 in which they had been forced to support France, Prussia and Austria joined Russia, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Portugal, and the rebels in Spain who were already at war with France.
The Treaty of Kiel or Peace of Kiel was concluded between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Sweden on one side and the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway on the other side on 14 January 1814 in Kiel. It ended the hostilities between the parties in the ongoing Napoleonic Wars, where the United Kingdom and Sweden were part of the anti-French camp while Denmark–Norway was allied to the French Empire.
Isaac Cruikshank was a Scottish painter and caricaturist, known for his social and political satire.
The German campaign was fought in 1813. Members of the Sixth Coalition, including the German states of Austria and Prussia, plus Russia and Sweden, fought a series of battles in Germany against the French Emperor Napoleon, his marshals, and the armies of the Confederation of the Rhine – an alliance of most of the other German states –, which ended the domination of the First French Empire.
The twelve-volume Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires Preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum is the primary reference work for the study of British satirical prints of the 18th and 19th century. Most of the content of the catalogue is now available through the British Museum's on-line database.
Mary Dorothy George (1878–1971), née Gordon, was a British historian best known for compiling the last seven volumes of the Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires Preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum, the primary reference work for the study of British satirical prints of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Samuel William Fores, normally credited on his publications as S. W. Fores was an English publisher and printseller with a renowned print shop at No 3 Piccadilly, London during the 'Golden Age' of Georgian satirical prints. Fores faced prosecution several times for the allegedly libellous nature of his satires. His sons George Thomas Fores (1806–58) and Arthur Blücher Fores (1814–83) succeeded him in the business, publishing predominantly sporting prints,and the family firm continued as printsellers and publishers for over 200 years.
The siege of Antwerp took place during the War of the Sixth Coalition and lasted from 14 January 1814 to 4 May 1814.
The Plumb-pudding in danger, or, State Epicures taking un Petit Souper is an 1805 editorial cartoon by the English artist James Gillray. The popular print depicts caricatures of the British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger and the newly-crowned Emperor of France Napoleon, both wearing military uniforms, carving up a terrestrial globe into spheres of influence. It was published as a hand-coloured print and has been described by the National Portrait Gallery as "probably Gillray's most famous print" and by the British Library as "one of Gillray's most famous satires dealing with the Napoleonic wars".
The Treaty of Troyes was an agreement of 22 February 1814 by Austria, Russia and Prussia following a council of war with senior generals, Tsar Alexander I of Russia and King Frederick William III of Prussia. The treaty determined the movements of the Austrian and Prussian-Russian armies following a series of defeats during the invasion of north-east France. Despite dissent from the Russian and Prussian leaders, Austrian General Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg secured support for a withdrawal ahead of the French forces of Emperor Napoleon I who was seeking to bring the allies to battle.
The Caricature Magazine or Hudibrastic Mirror was a British fortnightly magazine of humorous and satirical prints, first issued in 1806 by London publisher Thomas Tegg, and edited by George Woodward, the comic author and caricaturist, upon whose designs many of its prints were originally based. The British artist Thomas Rowlandson was a leading contributor and took over its direction after Woodward's death in 1809. The magazine's lively coloured designs by leading caricaturists of the day and comparatively low pricing were an immediate success and Tegg continued to publish the magazine until 1819. Tegg also reissued back numbers as bound volumes; prints from these volumes survive in quite large numbers and are among the best known surviving Georgian social caricatures.
Twelfth Night is an 1815 satirical cartoon by the British caricaturist George Cruikshank. It was published in January 1815, between the first defeat of Napoleon and his return for the Waterloo Campaign. It focuses on the ongoing Congress of Vienna which Cruikshank depicts as the "Theatre Royal, Europe". Based on the London theatre royals at Covent Garden and Dury Lane, the image features caricatures of many leading European rulers and statesman. Led by the British the great powers are seen carving up the cake of Europe while excluding the lesser nations. The scene onstage depicts the Alexander of Russia, Francis of Austria and Frederick William of Prussia led by the British Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh, while Alexander's brother Grand Duke Constantine is being called over to take control of Poland. The British figure is sometimes alternatively described as the Duke of Wellington, although he only reached Vienna in early February to replace his colleague Castlereagh. In the background are four shadowy figures depicted as beggars pleading for their thrones who represent Ferdinand of Sicily and the monarchs of Saxony, Bavaria, and Würtemberg.
The Corsican Shuttlecock or a Pretty Plaything for the Allies is an 1814 satirical cartoon by the British illustrator George Cruikshank. The print is Cruickshank's take on the recent Battle of Paris and the fall of the French capital.
