Description
Napoleon Bonaparte’s profile appears in silhouette before the setting sun, mourned by an eagle with a downcast head. The print’s title references the emperor’s penchant for using sculpted gilt eagles on top of his battle standards, which were variations on similar eagles sported by Roman legions. The British animal painter Edwin Landseer, who produced the design for this memorial roundel, specialized in poignant scenes of pets lamenting their owner’s demise. Curiously, here he turned the emperor’s standard into an actual bird.
Accession Number
82271
Medium
Stipple and engraving on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Plate: Diam.: 18 cm (7 1/8 in.); Sheet: 36.4 × 31.2 cm (14 3/8 × 12 5/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Credit Line
Gift of Col. Robert R. McCormick