Napoleon the Little Corporal
by Weston Westmoreland
Title
Napoleon the Little Corporal
Artist
Weston Westmoreland
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Napoleon I, the "Little Corporal", Crozatier, 1831. Les Invalides, París.
This 4m high statue was cast with 3,349kg of bronze melted from 16 cannons from Austerlitz. It represents one of the most famous images of Napoleon I: dressed in his coat - often called the frock coat - wearing his famous bicorn hat - and his hand on his stomach (a position partly explained by Napoleon's stomach ulcer).
The statue stands today opposite the entrance to the main courtyard of the Hôtel des Invalides, under an arcade on the first floor of the Galerie du Midi, above the portal of the soldiers' church.
The Emperor is wearing one of his favorite uniforms, the Mounted Chasseurs of the Guard. On his chest, he is wearing the Legion of Honor as well as the badge of the Iron Crown, two distinctions created by him in 1802 and 1805. In his hand, a spyglass, an essential observation instrument on the battlefield. On his left side hangs a sword, which could be the one he carried in Austerlitz in 1805 (found in the Austrian Empire, which is modern-day Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic). Finally, at his feet, bombs and cannonballs recall his initial training as an artilleryman.
The initial placement of the statue was on top of the Vendome column, but it was replaced in 1863 by a statue of “Napoleon Ist as a triumphal Roman emperor” by Dumont and moved to the Hôtel des Invalides.
More views of Paris one copy-paste away in my Gallery at http://westonwestmoreland.com/collections/paris
More amazing statues, sculptures and carvings at https://weston-westmoreland.pixels.com/collections/statues+sculptures+carvings
Weston Westmoreland.
Uploaded
July 19th, 2023
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