Napoléon I (1769–1821)
Medium
Ivory
Dimensions
Oval, 2 1/4 x 1 3/8 in. (56 x 36 mm)
Classification
Miniatures
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Helen O. Brice, 1942
Accession Number
42.53.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite ivory miniature portrait of Napoléon I, created by French artist Jean-Baptiste Isabey in 1812, captures the Emperor at the height of his power. Measuring just 2¼ x 1⅜ inches in an oval format, it exemplifies the intimate scale of 19th-century miniatures, designed as personal treasures to be worn as jewelry or kept in private collections. Isabey, a master miniaturist favored by Napoleon's court, rendered the likeness with remarkable precision, highlighting Napoleon's stern gaze and imperial bearing. Painted on ivory—a favored medium for its smooth, luminous surface that allowed ...
About the Artist
Jean-Baptiste Isabey · 1767–1855
Jean-Baptiste Isabey (1767–1855) was a French painter and miniaturist whose extraordinary longevity and adaptability allowed him to serve as the preeminent portraitist of successive French regimes — from the court of Louis XVI through the Revolution, the Napoleonic Empire, the Restoration, and into the July Monarchy — making his career an almost unparalleled chronicle of French political and socia...