Napoleon Bonaparte, later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military officer and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of successful campaigns across Europe during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1796 to 1815. He was the leader of the French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then of the French Empire as Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1814, and briefly again in 1815.
A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine artistic skill, hyperbole and satire in order to either question authority or draw attention to corruption, political violence and other social ills.
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.
Sir Hudson Lowe, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Saint Helena from 1816 to 1821. Seeing service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, he is best known for serving as the de facto jailor of Napoleon when he was in exile on Saint Helena.
Isaac Cruikshank was a Scottish painter and caricaturist, known for his social and political satire.
The Treaty of Fontainebleau was an agreement concluded in Fontainebleau, France, on 11 April 1814 between Napoleon and representatives of Austria, Russia and Prussia. The treaty was signed in Paris on 11 April by the plenipotentiaries of both sides and ratified by Napoleon on 13 April. With this treaty, the allies ended Napoleon's rule as emperor of the French and sent him into exile on Elba.
Richard Newton was an English caricaturist, miniaturist and book illustrator.
Charles Williams was a British caricaturist, etcher and illustrator. He was chief caricaturist between 1799 and 1815 for the leading British publisher S. W. Fores. He worked in a style similar to James Gillray. In his earlier works, Williams used the pseudonyms Ansell or Argus; with George Cruikshank and others he illustrated The Every-Day Book by William Hone, edited 1825–26.
The Incroyables and their female counterparts, the Merveilleuses, were members of a fashionable aristocratic subculture in Paris during the French Directory (1795–1799). Whether as catharsis or in a need to reconnect with other survivors of the Reign of Terror, they greeted the new regime with an outbreak of luxury, decadence, and even silliness. They held hundreds of balls and started fashion trends in clothing and mannerisms that today seem exaggerated, affected, or even effete. They were also mockingly called "incoyable" or "meveilleuse", without the letter R, reflecting their upper class accent in which that letter was lightly pronounced, almost inaudibly. When this period ended, society took a more sober and modest turn.
The Battle of Saint-Dizier was fought on 26 March 1814, between the Russian Army under Ferdinand Wintzingerode and The French Army, also known as ‘La Grande Armée’ commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte. The battle was part of Napoleon's Campaign of France, which took place during the War of the Sixth Coalition. It was Napoleon's last military victory before the surrender of Paris and his subsequent abdication.
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.
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.
"All the World's in Paris" is an 1814 comedy song by the British performer Joseph Grimaldi. It formed part of the Harlequin Whittington Boxing Day pantomime first performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London. Sometimes also known as "All the Word's at Paris" it mocked the fashionable British upper-class tourists who had flocked to the French capital Paris following the defeat of Napoleon. Grimaldi dressed up as an exaggerated dandy of the Regency style as well as traditional clown make-up.
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 Allied Bakers or the Corsican Toad-in-the-hole is an 1814 political caricature by the British illustrator George Cruikshank. It makes reference to Napoleon's Corsican heritage and the traditional British dish toad in the hole.
