Le Prince Napoléon  Le Lièvre (Prudence-Pusillanimité) thumbnail 1
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Le Prince Napoléon Le Lièvre (Prudence-Pusillanimité)

Print
1870-1871 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Satirical print with a depiction of Prince Napoleon Bonaparte as a hare. Print from a set of caricatures, broadsheets and illustrations in ten volumes. Each volume is half-bound in red leather, gold tooled and stamped with imperial emblems, title etc.


Object details

Category
Object type
Titles
  • Le Prince Napoléon Le Lièvre (Prudence-Pusillanimité) (assigned by artist)
  • La Ménagerie Impériale (series title)
Materials and techniques
Hand-coloured lithograph on paper
Brief description
'Le Prince Napoléon Le Lièvre (Prudence-Pusillanimité)'. Satirical illustration by Paul Hadol in which Prince Napoleon Bonaparte is depicted as a hare. Hand-coloured lithograph, France, 1870-1871.
Physical description
Satirical print with a depiction of Prince Napoleon Bonaparte as a hare. Print from a set of caricatures, broadsheets and illustrations in ten volumes. Each volume is half-bound in red leather, gold tooled and stamped with imperial emblems, title etc.
Dimensions
  • Height: 21.9cm
  • Width: 12cm
Dimensions from: Lambert, Susan. The Franco-Prussian War and The Commune in Caricature 1870-71. catalogue of a collection of prints in the possession of the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1971.
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'La Ménagerie Impériale. Le Prince Napoléon Le Lièvre (Prudence-Pusillanimité) Au Bureau des Annonces, 11, rue Taitbout. Imp. Coulboeuf, Paris.' (Lettered)
  • 'H' (Signed)
  • 'No. 4' (Numbered)
Gallery label
Paul Hadol (1835-75) Napoleon Bonaparte (1822-91), commonly known as Prince Napoleon or by the nickname Plon-Plon, looked like his uncle Napoleon I. He professed himself the representative of the democratic aspects of Bonapartism and was strongly opposed to the coup d’état of 1851 yet he was reconciled with the Imperial family. Pierre Bonaparte, nicknamed the wild boar, was deserted by his republican friends when he was reconciled with the Empire. In January 1870 he was brough into the limelight. As a result of a controversy in the press two journalists were sent to challenge him to a duel; during a heated discussion the Prince shot one of them. When the High Court acquitted him of murder the Government was severely criticized. Mathilde Bonaparte, sister of Prince Napoleon, was betrothed to her cousin Louis-Napoleon until his unsuccessful invasion of France at Strasbourg in 1836. She acted as Napoleon’s hostess until his marriage. Her salons were frequented by artists and writers including Taine, Flaubert and the Goncourts. Eugène Rouher held posts of increasing importance in Napoleon's Government until he became Minister of State in 1863. During the following six years he defended the Emperor's personal powers and opposed the liberal concessions. When they became inevitable he resigned. This caricature plays on the obvious interpretations of 'perroquet', either a parrot or someone who speaks without thinking and also on the phrase 'étrangler un perroquet', to drink a glass of absinthe. Lithographs, coloured by hand. From a series of 32. E.285-288-1962(27/05/1971-10/10/1971)
Object history
Napoleon Bonaparte (1822-91), commonly known as Prince Napoleon or by the nickname Plon-Plon, looked like his uncle Napoleon I. He professed himself the representative of the democratic aspects of Bonapartism and was strongly opposed to the coup d’état of 1851. Although reconciled with the Imperial family he disliked the Empress Eugénie. He was away from France when the Franco-Prussian War was declared and condemned it.
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic references
  • Lambert, Susan, The Franco-Prussian War and The Commune in Caricature 1870-71: catalogue of a collection of prints in the possession of the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, V&A, 1971
  • Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1962. London: HMSO, 1964.
Collection
Accession number
E.285-1962

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Record createdJanuary 27, 2009
Record URL
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