A Great Man on His Hobby Horse - A Design for an Intented Statue on the Place La Liberte at Paris

Rowlandson, Thomas

Published by [London] [1803], [London], 1803

About this Item

Original uncolored caricature of Napoleon by Thomas Rowlandson, the great British satirist and illustrator. Very good condition, with light rubbing at bottom edge. Metropolitan Museum of Art (Acc. Number 59.533.1383): "Napoleon, immensely elongated, rides a horse that rears on a globe and wears a crown and a collar lettered "Power." Beneath their feet is a map of Italy, Switzerland and Germany." Also, the word "Libertas" is printed on the horse's back and "Vive la Republique" on Napoleon's sword. Broadley (I, pp. 215-216) and Ashton (p. 236) both suggest that this caricature dates from the period after Napoleonâ s assumption of imperial status (18 May 1804), but BM Satires, which tentatively dates the engraving to April 1803, believes that it is â more in the spirit of prints during the Consulate, and especially early in 1803â . This print is known in both coloured examples (as here) and uncoloured examples (British Museum); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York holds copies of the print both coloured and uncoloured. BM Satires 9983 (uncoloured); Grand-Carteret Napolà on 135; Van Stolk 5986.

Seller Inventory # p00077

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Great Man on His Hobby Horse - A Design for an Intented Statue on the Place La Liberte at Paris
• Publisher: [London] [1803], [London]
• Publication Date: 1803
• Seller catalogs:
  • Prints and Ephemera