1841
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Portrait of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French is a 1841 unspecified by William Essex, a British Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a small, shiny portrait of Napoleon in his fancy uniform, painted on a smooth white surface. This isn’t paint—it’s enamel, a kind of glass fused onto metal. It doesn’t fade or crack like regular miniatures. The artist fired layer after layer of colored glass to get the details just right. It’s tough work, but the result lasts forever. If you like tiny, glowing portraits, look up *impasto*.
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…
Napoleon wears the green uniform of the chasseurs á cheval , including a green coat with a red collar over a white waistcoat and gold epaulets indicating his status as a general.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Sir William Essex of Lambourn, Berkshire was an English soldier and courtier who served as High Sheriff and Member of Parliament.
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