Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
1814
(18th and 19th Centuries )
After accompanying the French army in the Austro-Italian War of 1859, Meissionier abandoned the small, Dutch 17th-century genre subjects for which he had become known and turned with even greater success to depicting events in the career of Napoleon I. In this small painting commissioned by the subject's nephew, Prince Napoleon, the emperor is portrayed in a forbidding landscape just after his last, hard-won victory in the 1814 French campaign that was fought at Arcis-sur-Aube, near Troyes: 23,000 French troops withstood the onslaught of 90,000 Austrians, but were unable to capitalize on their victory.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Prince Napoléon, Vente publique de vingt-six tableaux, Paris, April 4, 1868, no. 18; Bouruet-Aubertot (date and mode of acquisition unknown); J. Ruskin (date and mode of acquisition unknown); J. Ruskin Sale, London, June 3, 1882, no. 111; Defoer Sale, Paris, May 22, 1886, no. 23; purchased by William T. Walters (through George A. Lucas as agent), Baltimore, May 22, 1886 [1]; inherited by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
[1] The Diary of George A. Lucas, p. 630.
Exhibitions
| 2014-2016 | From Rye to Raphael: The Walters Story. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2010-2011 | 19th Century Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Austin. |
| 2002-2004 | A Magnificent Age: Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte. |
| 1999-2000 | Vive la France! French Treasures from the Middle Ages to Monet. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1992 | Cavaliers and Cardinals: Nineteenth Century French Anecdotal Painting. Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; Arnot Art Museum, Elmira. |
| 1984 | The Taste of Maryland: Art Collecting in Maryland 1800-1934. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1863 | M. Bingham Studio Exhibit, Paris. |
| 1862 | International Exhibition. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 7/10/1951 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 5/4/1984 | Examination | examined for exhibition |
| 5/20/1985 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 6/27/1990 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
| 4/3/1991 | Examination | examined for loan |
| 12/3/1992 | Examination | examined for loan |
| 1/1/1993 | Treatment | cleaned; loss compensation |
Geographies
France
(Place of Origin)
France, Arcis-sur-Aube (Place Depicted)
Measurements
H: 12 3/4 x W: 9 1/2 in. (32.4 x 24.2 cm); Framed H: 20 3/8 x W: 17 3/16 x D: 2 15/16 in. (51.75 x 43.66 x 7.46 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. Walters, 1886
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.52