Napoleon's legacy in prints

Napoleon spread liberal reform across Europe and to his supporters he was a modern hero. Marking the 200th anniversary of Bonaparte’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, a new exhibition at the Fitzwilliam looks at the rise of lithographic printmakers who explored the legacy of the great military leader and notions of heroism.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century Napoleon was the dominant figure in Europe and the Napoleonic Wars captured the imagination of artists. Contemporary events - epic and dramatic -were reflected in many forms of art, particularly the popular medium of printmaking. This exhibition showcases prints made in France in the wake of Napoleon. Some commemorate and mythologize the Napoleonic Wars, others challenge the political establishment, and still others satirize society.

After Napoleon’s fall from power, France suffered continuous political upheaval. This period coincided with a revolution in printmaking. In 1798, in Munich, Alois Senefelder invented lithography (meaning ‘drawing on stone’). The first new printmaking technique to be devised since intaglio in the fifteenth century, it was quickly adopted in France. Quick to make and cheap to produce in large numbers, lithographic prints became the medium through which a new generation of artists disseminated their ideas.

This exhibition brings together artists raised under the Empire who exploited the spontaneity and versatility of lithography. These include Charlet and Raffet who contributed to Napoleon’s heroic legacy, Delacroix and Gericault who responded to the drama and tragedy of the period, and Daumier who mastered the art of caricature.

Modern Heroism: Printmaking and the legacy of Napoleon Bonaparte is on display in the Charrington Print Room (16) until 28 June 2015

3 February 2015