From an army officer to the First Consul and finally the Emperor of France, various paintings of Napoleon have captured the image of one of France’s most famous leaders throughout the various stages of his life and career. Many of these are burned in the collective memory and identity of French culture and history, and as such, they are stored in prestigious museums and collections for preservation.
However, with the Napoléon: Une collection historique sale being held in Paris by Sotheby’s on 25 June, various paintings, sketches, and other works of Napoleon or his various military victories have been made available for auction. The top three works follow Napoleon from his time as a young Consul to his coronation as Emperor in the famous work by François Gérard.
The top three paintings are rounded out by a work by Paul Delaroche, Napoleon I at Fontainebleau on March 31, 1814, a famous painting of the Emperor just after his abdication, looking defeated, worn out, and isolated, sitting alone in a room. With the original in Paris, other copies exist worldwide, in various important museums, and now one has come to the auction floor.
Also featured in the sale are various antiques and relics of the First French Empire, including swords, thrones, and rings. Read about that here in the first part of this article.
Lot 8 | Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1835) | Bonaparte, First Consul, Oil on canvas
Circa 1802
61 x 49.8 cm
Provenance:
- Anonymous sale, Mes Rieunier & Bailly-Pommery, Paris, 10 November 1999, lot 17 (as French School circa 1810, Circle of Antoine-Jean Gros, called Baron Gros)
Estimate: Upon Request
Many of the works featured in this sale are focused versions of the full-length paintings made by the same artist. This work of Napoleon in a bright red uniform, officially known as a consular habit, is adorned in gold embroidery and stands tall and proud, looking away from the audience. Here, while only the face is visible, this accentuates his facial features and youth, especially compared to later works of his, as in this painting, he was only in his early thirties.
The full painting shows an even greater stature of the First Consul of France, with his sword to his side and his hand resting on a stack of official papers, capturing a sense of power and statesmanship in the work and seeming to serve as a visual manifestation of Napoleon’s power at the time.
This work would go on to fulfill that role of portraying Napoleon’s power, as the First Consul was a major supporter of Gros’ paintings of him. He commissioned Gros to make four copies of the original that would be given to either close associates of Napoleon or sent to townships and regional governments to commemorate Napoleon’s successes.
This would go beyond Gros, with Napoleon having seven replicas of this work made by different artists, to be displayed across France and Europe. While it is unknown where some of these replicas ended up, it was not uncommon for Napoleon’s influence to be extended via artistic gifts or metaphorical displays of his power in France’s client states, with paintings being one of those outlets of political patronage.
Antoine-Jean Gros | Bonaparte, First Consul (1802) | Musée national de la Légion d'honneur et des ordres de chevalerie, Paris
Gros would end up having an interesting relationship with Napoleon, as when the two first met in Italy in 1796, when Napoleon was Commander-in-Chief of the French military during the First Italian Campaign, the young general was hostile to having his portrait done. Napoleon would eventually reluctantly give Gros the chance to paint him sitting for several sessions so that Gros could paint Bonaparte crossing the Pont d'Arcole, a key work that helped establish the mythology around Napoleon.
It was this work, which was displayed in the Salon de Paris in 1801, that ignited this idea in Napoleon to use art as a way to propel his political career and image across France. It’s why, when Bonaparte, First Consul, was painted, so many replicas were ordered as a way to distribute the likeness of Napoleon and his role as leader of France.
Interestingly, Gros, who was partially responsible for catapulting Napoleon’s image in French popular opinion, was not able to sit with him to paint Bonaparte, First Consul, and instead had to base this entire work on Bonaparte crossing the Pont d'Arcole.
Antoine-Jean Gros | Bonaparte at the Pont d’Arcole (1796) | Palace of Versailles, Versailles
While Gros was indeed a prominent painter and one of great political importance, he would not become famous until two years after this lot was painted. In 1804, his work Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa would be the painting that launched Gros’ career, as it displayed the compassion of Napoleon during the campaign in Egypt. However, by 1810, his career had cooled owing to the fact that he had drifted from Napoleon’s favor.
Important to note is that Bonaparte, First Consul, is not the only painting with this name, as the fame and popularity of the Gros work inspired a similar one painted by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres in 1804. Ingres had the luxury of painting his work while Napoleon was seated while visiting Liège. The two works differ in posture, as Napoleon in the Ingres work faces the audience a bit more. Additionally, Napoleon’s face is rounder and has significantly shorter hair, perhaps a way to show the general had aged.
Lot 12 | Studio of François-Pascal-Simon Baron Gérard (1770-1837) | Napoleon in his Coronation Robes, Oil on canvas
Circa 1805
223.8 x 145 cm
Provenance:
- Collection of the Empress Eugénie, Camden Place, Chislehurst
- By whom given to Tito Franceschini Pietri when moving out from Camden Place to Farnborough Hill
- Collection Franceschini Pietri (1835-1915)
- Collection Baciocchi Family
- Inventory of the Baciocchi estate drawn up in Ile-Rousse (Corsica) by Mr René Morot, expert to the Tribunal de Nice on 22 June 1924
- Inventory dated 3-4 August 1978
- Sale Collection Franceschini Pietri (1835-1915), Osenat, Fontainebleau, 1 April 2012, lot 37 (as Studio of François-Pascal-Simon Baron Gérard, attributed to Marie-Eléonore Godefroid)
Estimate: In the region of €300,000 (around US$346,000)
In the popular consciousness, there are perhaps two key portrayals of Napoleon. There is Napoleon, the general, standing on the battlefield with his grey coat and bicorne hat. The other is Napoleon, the Emperor of France, in his full white, red, and gold attire during the famous coronation within Notre Dame Cathedral.
While the scene of him during the coronation itself, surrounded by various individuals, is probably the most famous iteration of that event, this work by François Gérard is also quite famous, with there being versions of it in the Palace of Versailles, the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Originally intended to be an official portrait of Napoleon, like the previous lot, it became a propaganda tool distributed across Europe.
While the location of the original is not known, this specific one found its way through the Bonaparte lineage to Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, or Napoleon III, the paternal nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. Following the defeat of the Second French Empire at the hands of the Prussians and the royal family’s exile to Britain in the 1870s, this painting went along with them and ended up in the hands of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugenie.
Empress Eugenie then passed down the work to Jean-Baptiste Franceschini Pietri, a close aide to Napoleon III, who used the painting to decorate the London apartment of Louis-Napoléon after his passing, having died fighting for the British in Africa in 1879.
The lot was seen in a dining room in northern Corsica, France, in 1910. At this point, it was owned by the Baciocchi family
The painting itself depicts Napoleon in his full coronation garb. Gérard is able to capture many of the details and textures of the elaborate clothing that was used, including the smoothness of the white satin tunic, as well as the detailed embroidery on the sleeves and cuffs. The detail extends to the red coronation mantle with its deep crimson color and white fur lining. Important to all of this were the motifs, such as bees, which were symbols of Napoleon, and wreaths, which Napoleon used to emulate the Romans.
Such motifs and symbols of royalty are seen elsewhere in this painting, including the usage of the gold wreath as the main piece of headwear instead of Napoleon’s actual crown, the Crown of Charlemagne.
Another interesting motif choice is that Napoleon wields in his hand, not the Hand of Justice Scepter, which is placed in the background next to the globus cruciger, but instead a scepter with the French Imperial Eagle.
The artist seemed to prioritize propaganda elements, such as key Napoleonic symbols, such as the medal, bees, and Roman iconography
As for the painter, François Gérard was a prolific painter of historical scenes, painting key events and people of the First French Empire. He started gaining fame in the 1790s for his historical paintings of events during the French Revolution, such as in his 1794 work of the storming of the Tuileries Palace, which won him first place in a competition.
Later on, he would be seemingly drawn into French nationalism and the fervor around the emperor, painting numerous portraits of him, his family, including the empress, and his victories, such as Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz. Gérard became extremely celebrated as a painter, and even after the downfall of Napoleon, he still received work painting portraits for the royals of the Bourbon Restoration.
Lot 101 | Paul Delaroche (1797-1856) | Napoleon I at Fontainebleau, 31 March 1814, Oil on canvas
Circa 1848
81.4 x 65 cm
Provenance:
- With Jean-François Heim
- Where acquired by the present owner, in 2004
Estimate: €150,000-200,000 (around US$173,000-231,000)
While most paintings of Napoleon, including the prior two lots, are bold, arrogant, and full of pride and power, the famous work of Napoleon I at Fontainebleau on 31 March 1814 is the opposite. It shows a man isolated, exhausted, and defeated. The painting depicts the final day of the War of the Sixth Coalition, when the armies of Prussia, Austria, and Russia fought their way into Paris, forcing the surrender of its defenders.
Napoleon was not at the battle, leaving his brother in charge of the capital’s defense. He was instead rushing to return to the city, having made it to Fontainebleau, just under 70 kilometers southeast of the city, when he learned of its surrender. The emperor tried and failed to convince his generals to press the attack into the city, and with that, the war was lost for the French. Napoleon would abdicate the throne on 6 April and depart for the island of Elba.
This famous painting captures the swirl of emotions and feelings around the final moments of Napoleon’s empire. While dressed in his military uniform, the splendor and glory of the battlefield, in which he was often painted, is traded for a dilapidated and dark room, with the uniform looking saggy and more dull than usual. The boots are dirty, with the impression that he has just returned from the battlefield, and the room is a mess, a possible metaphor for the chaos France was in at the time.
Most important, however, is Napoleon’s facial expression. It’s both solemn and thoughtful at the same time, with his entire body slouched in such a way that conveys dejection and defeat. His face seems to be lost in thought as he stares blankly away from the audience, with his jaw slack and eyes glazed over as if not paying attention to what is before him. As such, this painting very much sucks the life and essence out of Napoleon’s mythology, portraying him in an uncharacteristically human way.
Paul Delaroche | Napoleon I at Fontainebleau, 31 March 1814 (1840) | Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig
Interestingly, this painting of Napoleon by Delaroche may have been an outlet for the painter to express his feelings and emotions. Delaroche was often a melancholic and anxious man, whose emotional tendencies only grew as he aged, and his art was less well received by the general public, especially post-1837. By the time this lot was painted, he was in a “self-imposed exile” from the public art world, with perhaps this painting reflecting that state.
Delaroche, who by the painting of this lot had lost much of his luster in the art world and felt dejected by it, perhaps saw much of himself in Napoleon’s final days, regardless of whether those were the true emotions of the Emperor. As such, the painting can be seen almost as a self-portrait or at least a reflection of Delaroche himself and how he felt being reduced to a humbled old man, rather than young and confident.
Other Highlighted Lots:
Lot 73 | Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1835) | Equestrian Portrait of Joachim Murat, sketch for The Battle of Eylau, Oil on canvas
Circa 1812
45.7 x 38 cm
Provenance:
- Possibly, Collection of Monsieur Bizet
- Possibly his sale, Me Lacoste and Henry, Paris, 21-22 May 1828, lot 10 (titled Esquisse du grand-duc de Berg, qui a servi pour le tableau d'Eylau)
- Possibly sale Gros, no. 7 (titled Murat dans le costume du Nord, il est représenté sur un cheval au temps de galop, esquisse, acquis par Nitoz (?) 506F)
- Possibly collection of Princes Golitzyn (or Galitzine), as per the stamps to the left and right
- Anonymous sale, Libert, Paris, 1 December 2010, lot 33 (as French School, 19th Century, Circle of Baron Gros)
- With Hubert Duchemin, Paris
- Where acquired by the present owner, in 2011
Estimate: €100,000-150,000 (around US$115,000-173,000)
Lot 39 | Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine and Workshop (1762-1853) | Napoleon at the Tuileries, Watercolour over traces of black chalk
53.8 x 63.5 cm
Provenance:
- Collection of Prince Achille Murat, son of the King of Naples
- Collection of Prince Démidoff
- Sale Palais de San Donato à Florence, Me Pillet, Florence, 15 March 1880 and following days, lot 277 (as Jean-Baptiste Isabey)
- Where acquired by Monsieur Hugo Finaly (at least until 1909)
Estimate: €100,000-150,000 (around US$115,000-173,000)
Lot 1 | François-André Vincent (1746-1816) | Battle of the Pyramids, Pen and black ink, sepia wash over traces of black chalk, squared for transfer
Circa 1810
46.5 x 84.7 cm
Provenance:
- Collection of the artist
- His inventory after death
- His sale after death, Paris, 17-19 October 1816, lot 61
- Descent of François Griois, brother-in-law of the artist
- Private Collection, Gisors, in the 1970s
- Anonymous sale, Me Grandin, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 13 February 1981, unnumbered
- With M. W. Brady, New York, in 1984
- Anonymous sale, Sotheby's, Paris, 27 June 2002, lot 110
- Where acquired by the present owner
Estimate: €80,000-120,000 (around US$92,000-138,000)
Auction Details:
Auction House: Sotheby's Paris
Sale: Napoléon: Une Collection Historique
Date and Time: 25 June 2025 | 2:30 pm (Paris Local Time)
Number of Lots: 112