Napoleon
after 1835
Medium
Watercolor and gouache, over traces of graphite, on tan wove paper
Dimensions
13.2 × 16.3 cm (5 1/4 × 6 7/16 in.)
Classification
watercolor
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
48678
Art Historical Context
Nicolas Toussaint Charlet *Napoleon*, created after 1835, the enduring legacy of the French Emperor in a intimate watercolor and gouache over graphite on tan wove paper. just 13.2 × 16.3 cm, this delicate work from the Art Institute of Chicago’s Prints Drawings department exemplifies Charlet’s mastery of small-scale portraiture, blending meticulous underdrawing with vibrant, opaque gouache layers for a luminous effect. A veteran of Napoleon’s campaigns, Charlet1792–1845) was a leading Romantic lithographer and painter who romanticized the Napoleonic era through humorous and nostalgic depictio...
About the Artist
Nicolas Toussaint Charlet · 1792–1845
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