Themes in British and French Napoleonic pictorial propaganda (1796-1815)

Abstract

The decision to focus on the subject of this dissertation revolved around my interests since the start of my studies in history. I have always been invested in the Napoleonic era, however the issue I stumbled into was the lack of knowledge of French. Hence, I felt that using visual sources could be an effective way in which I could delve into French history during this period. The first chapter is primarily concerned with the technicalities of my research, such as finding the primary and secondary sources as well as setting out the context of my work. The context will involve an explanation of how French culture led to the praise of ‘Great Men’ and how Napoleon would exploit that culture from the start of the Italian Campaign. Popular artists of the time, both British and French, are mentioned to give the reader a sense of who was producing propaganda at the time. Secondary sources that were essential to my work will also be discussed to explain how they provided me with much needed context, analysis of many satirical prints and paintings, and highlighted many important themes which I delved into. The second chapter goes into French propaganda and how Napoleon compared himself to other figures in history to display an image of a hero. It focuses on the period from 1804 to 1810, the height of his Empire. During this period, the Emperor was interested in maintaining his legitimacy by comparing himself to three types of figures: Christ, heroes/valiant warriors such as Charlemagne and Hannibal, and finally and most notably, Classical figures, specifically Roman Emperors. This chapter also focuses on other sources of propaganda instead of just paintings, such as architecture and sculpture, however the emphasis is placed on paintings in most of the dissertation. Chapter 3 focuses on British caricatures which sought to delegitimise Napoleon. The main years tackled during this section are between 1808 and 1815, which were concerned with the Emperor’s downfall and British reactions to this. This chapter starts with a discussion of British criticisms of every government, not just the French one, which goes to show the freedom that British artists enjoyed in comparison to the French, who experienced mass censorship under Napoleon’s rule. Apart from this, themes such as Napoleon’s relation with the Devil and his wrong doings towards the French themselves become prominent. The fourth chapter tackles a theme with which both British and French propaganda were concerned, that is, the legitimacy, or otherwise, of Napoleon. The chapter discusses both sides and shows the inherent differences in their approaches towards propaganda. Indeed, the British were interested in showing Napoleon’s lack of belonging to the French; he was a usurper in their eyes. In addition, the theme of Napoleon’s unjust treatment of the French nation is revisited. Meanwhile, one may also see Napoleon’s development of propaganda from 1796 during his Italian Campaign in the form of pamphlets. Later, he would be concerned with maintaining an image of himself as a Roman emperor.