The Last Days of Napoleon
Gilded bronze
Vincenzo Vela (Swiss/Italian, 1820–1891)
Signed «V.Vela»
Stamped «F.Barbedienne Fondeur»
42 cm x 38 cm x 23 cm
A slouching Napoleon Bonaparte is seated in his dressing gown; a blanket covering his body and legs.
His hand is nervously clutched on a map of Europe spread on his lap.
His eyes gaze fixedly a point beyond.
This sublime and pathetic image of the dying Imperial captive was first executed in marble - entitled «Napoléon mourant à Saint-Hélène» (Napoleon dying at Saint Helena) - for the French International Exhibition of 1867, now exhibited at the Musée d’Orsay.
Our bronze is one of the four sizes subject of reductions by Barbedienne.