Bonaparte and the British, British Museum

You might not know that 2015 marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, which saw the defeat of the pugnacious Emperor and General Napoleon Bonaparte by the Duke of Wellington’s army with Prussian Forces. Waterloo, fought a few miles south of Brussels, marked the final destruction of Napoleon’s army and the end of his 16-year reign as dictator of France and much of Europe.

Bonaparte and the British: British Museum exhibition 2015

To commemorate Napoleon’s defeat, the British Museum, London is holding an exhibition of prints by British and French satirists who reviled or glorified the emperor in his campaign for European domination.

Why prints from the British Museum collection?

Printing was in fact the only way news could be communicated to the public. Many artists developed a visual language that combined satirical caricature with the kind of witty narrative first made popular by British painter William Hogarth. With so many of the British Museum collection of prints on display, a curious comparison can be made between satirical printmakers and more sober portraitists.

In this exhibition, British Museum traces portraits of a young Napoleon from the mid 1790s to his final exile to St Helena in 1815. Displaying bawdy humour, trenchant wit and incisive intelligence, this should be high on the list of museums to visit in London for anyone interested in the art of satire.