#rafaello morghen

[brooklynmuseum]

Napoleon Bonaparte was born on Corsica in 1769, the same year that the once independent island was conquered by France. He parlayed his modest birthright into an illustrious military career in France rocketing through the ranks to become a general at the age of 24. Considered one of the most ambitious men in the modern era, Napoleon took advantage of a power vacuum in the wake of the tumultuous French Revolution to name himself First Consul and later emperor, as we see him here. Propagandistic images asserted his power. The crown of laurels connect him to ancient Rome. The bees on his cloak connect him to the earliest kings of France, the Merovingians, while at the same time replacing the fleur-de-lys that reminded too many of the recently deposed Bourbon kings.

Posted by Elizabeth Treptow Rafaello Morghen (Italian, 1758-1833) after Stephano Tofanelli (Italian, 1752-1812) Napoleon. Engraving on wove paper. Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Marion Reilly, 29.96

[bm-european-art]

Madonna Della Sedia, Rafaello Morghen, 1832, Brooklyn Museum: European Art

Size: 7 13/16 x 6 5/16 in. (19.8 x 16.1 cm) Medium: Engraving on wove paper

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/23876

[bm-european-art]

Napoleon, Rafaello Morghen, Brooklyn Museum: European Art

Size: 20 1/8 × 14 5/16 in. (51.1 × 36.4 cm) Medium: Engraving on wove paper

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/27564