Napoleon

Napoleon is a color lithograph created in 1895 by the influential French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864-1901). Executed on ivory wove paper, this important print exemplifies Toulouse-Lautrec’s mastery of the lithographic process, a medium he utilized extensively to create posters, illustrations, and independent works that defined the visual culture of fin-de-siècle Paris. Though the artist is renowned primarily for documenting the cabarets and society of Montmartre, he occasionally engaged with historical figures, treating them with the same dynamic compositional style he applied to contemporary performers.

Produced roughly 75 years after Napoleon Bonaparte’s death, the work signals the continuing importance of the Empire builder in late 19th-century France. Toulouse-Lautrec’s interpretation of historical figures often departs from academic, idealized depictions, instead infusing the subject with the characteristic immediacy, compression, or caricature seen in his journalistic and commercial output. As a prolific producer of prints, Toulouse-Lautrec was instrumental in elevating the status of commercial lithography to fine art, establishing him as one of the most vital graphic artists of the period.

This significant piece of French printmaking is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. While the precise circumstances surrounding the creation of Napoleon are often debated by scholars, the piece is invaluable for understanding how Toulouse-Lautrec engaged with broader cultural subjects beyond his signature studies of Parisian nightlife. As many of his most famous images are now in the public domain, the continuing availability of high-quality prints and reproductions ensures the widespread appreciation of Toulouse-Lautrec’s pivotal contribution to modern graphic arts.