Époque Mémorable de 1821. Répas de Corps

A departure from many of the engraved Napoleonic satires in the collection of the John Hay Library, this sheet is a lithograph. A profile view of Napoleon's corpse, laid out on a bier, is the focus of the image. His face is drawn with portrait-like accuracy and his head is crowned with laurel. Crowded around his feet and his right arm, six French citizens have removed the drapes that cover his "heroic" body and begin to feast on his flesh. The figures, both male and female, appear to hail from various classes, yet they tear into his body with equal vigor. Seated at Napoleon's feet, a gentleman and woman holding a fan bite into Napoleon's toes. Next, two men attack his arms--one carries a banner that reads "Vive Quand Mème." Two additional figures begin on his upper right side: a woman wearing a frilled bonnet gnaws at his wrist, while a man in a religious [Quaker?] costume stares in disbelief at the avenging figure of Liberty (r.), who arrives at the scene in a mass of clouds. Like Napoleon, Liberty is rendered in a classical style. Her cape and her hair trail behind her as she descends to fight off the hungry crowd. In her right hand she raises a spear (aimed at a bird perched on the top of the woman's bonnet?); in her left, she carries a shield. A departure from many of the engraved Napoleonic satires in the collection of the John Hay Library, this sheet is a lithograph. A profile view of Napoleon's corpse, laid out on a bier, is the focus of the image. His face is drawn with portrait-like accuracy and his head is crowned with laurel. Crowded around his feet and his right arm, six French citizens have removed the drapes that cover his "heroic" body and begin to feast on his flesh. The figures, both male and female, appear to hail from various classes, yet they tear into his body with equal vigor. Seated at Napoleon's feet, a gentleman and woman holding a fan bite into Napoleon's toes. Next, two men attack his arms--one carries a banner that reads "Vive Quand Mème." Two additional figures begin on his upper right side: a woman wearing a frilled bonnet gnaws at his wrist, while a man in a religious [Quaker?] costume stares in disbelief at the avenging figure of Liberty (r.), who arrives at the scene in a mass of clouds. Like Napoleon, Liberty is rendered in a classical style. Her cape and her hair trail behind her as she descends to fight off the hungry crowd. In her right hand she raises a spear (aimed at a bird perched on the top of the woman's bonnet?); in her left, she carries a shield. Published by C. Hullmandel (?). Although the title and other words on this print are in French, the inscription under the lower right border of the image indicates that it was printed in London, possibly in 1821. Due to public disappointment with the lackluster restoration of Louis XVIII, Napoleon's reputation as a military leader and as a statesman was rehabilitated across Europe, especially in France. 1821? Caption: London C. Hullmandel's Lithography