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Portrait of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French

William Essex (British, 1784–1869)

1841

Medium: enamel on copper, gilt metal and plush mount in a turned wood frame
Classification: Portrait Miniature
Dimensions: Framed: 13.5 x 11.5 cm (5 5/16 x 4 1/2 in.); Unframed: 6.6 x 5 cm (2 5/8 x 1 15/16 in.)
Culture: England, 19th century
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art, Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Gift of Mabel Porozynski in honor and remembrance of Eugene Porozynski
Rights: Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it: Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed

About this work

Unlike fragile portrait miniatures painted in watercolor on vellum or ivory, which are prone to cracking, fading, and flaking, enamels are resilient, impervious to the effects of light, and retain their striking original colors over time. Partly for this reason enamel was considered ideal for reproducing famous paintings and treasured portraits in a reduced and luminous form. The complicated and labor-intensive process of enameling required the artist to fire numerous layers of colored metal oxide at different temperatures. This process made it difficult to produce a faithful portrait likeness, though masters of the medium were able create portraits of remarkable subtlety imbued with the sitter's personality. The desire for portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte helped to create a market for miniatures that William Essex was fueling long after the emperor's death.