Allegorical Portrait of Napoleon, after Pierre-Paul Prud'hon
circa 1796
18th century
41.1 cm x 54.6 cm (16 3/16 in. x 21 1/2 in.)
Victor-Marie Picot
(Monthières (Somme), 1744 - 1805, Amiens)
Primary
Object Type:
print
Artist Nationality:
Europe, French
Medium and Support:
Stipple engraving
Credit Line:
Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Purchase, 2003
Accession Number:
2003.28
One function of the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture was to broadcast a positive image of the monarchy throughout the kingdom. After the overthrow of the king during the French Revolution (1789-1791), the Academy was reformed; its new function was to glorify the Republican government that took the monarchy’s place.
Prud’hon came of age during this revolutionary period and contributed to Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise from general to emperor by mythologizing his victories and celebrating his leadership in paintings and in designs for widely distributed reproductive prints.