Napoleon

Napoleon is a significant lithograph created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1895. This powerful print exemplifies the artist's masterful handling of the lithographic medium, a technique central to the burgeoning graphic arts movement in France during the Fin de Siècle. Toulouse-Lautrec, renowned for his documentation of the transient moments of contemporary Parisian life, particularly within the cabarets and theaters of Montmartre, applied his considerable skills in printmaking to this work referencing the foundational figure of French history.

The choice of subject, Napoleon Bonaparte, is particularly noteworthy given Lautrec’s typical focus on contemporary entertainers and aristocrats. The artwork, classified specifically as a print, showcases the artist’s ability to imbue historical subjects with the characteristic expressive line and psychological insight found in his portraits of the Belle Époque. The distribution of such specialized fine-art prints allowed Toulouse-Lautrec to circulate his unique visual narratives beyond the limitations of large-scale commercial posters.

As one of the premier post-Impressionist prints produced in France during this decade, the work provides crucial insight into late nineteenth-century artistic practices and the widespread shift towards reproducible media. The technical precision achieved in the lithograph solidified Lautrec’s legacy as a graphic innovator whose influence continues to resonate. This important example of Toulouse-Lautrec’s output resides in the permanent collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.