“The Emperor Napoleon I” by Horace Vernet
“The Emperor Napoleon I” by Horace Vernet depicts Napoleon Bonaparte wearing the cross and plaque of the “Légion d’Honneur” and the cross of the “Order of the Iron Crown”.
This portrait is one of three paintings of Napoleon painted by Vernet in 1815-16. Napoleon founded both of the orders that Napoleon is wearing in this painting.
Napoleon, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, and again briefly in 1815. Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France in the Napoleonic Wars.
He won most of these wars and the majority of his battles, building a vast empire that ruled over Europe before its collapse in 1815.
He is considered one of the greatest commanders in history, and his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools.
Napoleon’s political and cultural legacy has endured as one of history’s most celebrated and controversial leaders.
Horace Vernet was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects.
During his early career, when Napoleon Bonaparte was in power, he was known for depicting French soldiers in a more direct, familiar, realistic way and not in the idealized tradition.
The Emperor Napoleon I
- Title: The Emperor Napoleon I
- Artist: Horace Vernet
- Year: 1815
- Type: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 2.4 x 59.7 cm (28.5 in × 23.5 in)
- Museum: National Gallery, London
Horace Vernet
- Artist: Émil Jean Horace Vernet
- Born: 1789 – Paris, France
- Died: 1863 – Paris, France
- Nationality: French
- Movement: Orientalist
- Notable works:
Horace Vernet
Emperor Napoleon
Exploring the National Gallery, London
- “The Emperor Napoleon I” by Horace Vernet – 1815
- “Dido Building Carthage” by J. M. W. Turner – 1815
- “Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows” by John Constable – 1831
- “The Execution of Lady Jane Grey” by Paul Delaroche – 1833
- “The Fighting Temeraire” by Joseph Mallord William Turner – 1839
- “Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway” by J. M. W. Turner – 1844
- “Cimabue’s Celebrated Madonna is carried in Procession through the Streets of Florence” by Frederic Leighton – 1855
- “Madame Moitessier” by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres– 1856
- “The Gare St-Lazare” by Claude Monet – 1877
- “Bathers at Asnières” by Georges Seurat – 1884
- “Sunflowers” by Vincent van Gogh – 1888
- “After the Bath, Woman Drying Herself” by Edgar Degas – 1895
- “Boulevard Montmartre at Night” by Camille Pissarro – 1898
Emperor Napoleon I
Napoleon Quotes
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“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”
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“Until you spread your wings, you’ll have no idea how far you can fly.”
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“History is a set of lies agreed upon.”
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“A leader is a dealer in hope.”
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“If you build an army of 100 lions and their leader is a dog,
in any fight, the lions will die like a dog.
But if you build an army of 100 dogs and their leader is a lion,
all dogs will fight as a lion.”
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“Victory is not always winning the battle…but rising every time you fall.”
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“An army of lions commanded by a deer will never be an army of lions.”
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“In war, the moral element and public opinion are half the battle.”
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“Lies circle the earth while Truth is still trying to put on its shoes.”
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“The people to fear are not those who disagree with you, but those who disagree with you and are too cowardly to let you know.”
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“It’s not the size of the army but the power within the army.”
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“Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go.”
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“Imagination rules the world.”
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Emperor Napoleon
Napoleon: Big Questions – Short Answers
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“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”
– Napoleon Bonaparte
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Photo Credit: 1) Horace Vernet [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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