The Hope of Posterity: The Emperor, Empress, and King of Rome

Description

Napoleon’s beloved first wife, the Empress Josephine, bore him no children. Marie-Louise, whom he married in 1810 after divorcing Josephine, promptly produced an heir in early 1811. This optimistically titled print implies that the infant lying asleep in an ostentatious, eagle-themed cradle would succeed his father. The domestic composition overlooks Napoleon’s frequent military absences as well as the escalating battles against the English that would lead to his exile by 1814.

The Hope of Posterity: The Emperor, Empress, and King of Rome

Adrien Pierre François Godefroy

1811/12

Accession Number

82247

Medium

Etching with engraving in black on ivory wove paper

Dimensions

Image: 33.2 × 42 cm (13 1/8 × 16 9/16 in.); Plate: 41.8 × 48.1 cm (16 1/2 × 18 15/16 in.); Sheet: 42.4 × 49.1 cm (16 3/4 × 19 3/8 in.)

Classification

etching

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Col. Robert R. McCormick