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La V...Espagnole

Print
1870-1871 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Rouge Frères Et Comp. (printer)
Le Petit, Alfred (caricaturist)
Duclaux (publisher)
Place of origin
Paris (made)
Paris (printed)

Satirical print with a depiction of the Empress Eugénie as a cow, tossing her family in the air whilst being ridden by the French statesman Émile Ollivier, who lifts up her tail. The Empress breaks wind at her husband, the Emperor Napoleon, who is tossed into the air. Sitting on the ground, his hat fallen off and looking up in shock, is the Prince Imperial who is about to be trampled under his mother's hind legs. The Empress is branded with a crown and the letter 'E' on her left side. 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

Categories
Prints
Caricatures & Cartoons
Object type
Print
TitleLa V...Espagnole (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Hand-coloured lithograph on paper
Paper
Lithography
Hand-Colouring
Brief description
'La V...Espagnole'. Satirical illustration by Alfred le Petit depicting the French Empress Eugénie as a cow, tossing her family in the air. Hand-coloured lithograph, France, 1870-1871.
Physical description
Satirical print with a depiction of the Empress Eugénie as a cow, tossing her family in the air whilst being ridden by the French statesman Émile Ollivier, who lifts up her tail. The Empress breaks wind at her husband, the Emperor Napoleon, who is tossed into the air. Sitting on the ground, his hat fallen off and looking up in shock, is the Prince Imperial who is about to be trampled under his mother's hind legs. The Empress is branded with a crown and the letter 'E' on her left side. 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: 29.5cm
  • Width: 22.5cm
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 V...Espagnole Ugénie. Ollivier, cannonier de génie. Le petit Badingue [sic]. Badinguet III. Se vend chez Duclaux, 21, place du Château-d'Eau. - Chez Madre, 20, rue du Croissant. Paris. - Typ. Rouge frères et Comp.' (Title, lettered above design.)
  • 'Zut' (Signed)
Gallery label
(27/05/1971-10/10/1971)
Alfred Le Petit "Zut" (1814-1909)

The self-willed Spanish Empress was popularly believed to have the last word in the Imperial household in state as well as private matters. Here depicted as a cow ('vache' also means a loose woman) she tosses her family in the air, farting in disrespect at her husband, while her son whines helplessly on the ground. Napoleon’s Imperial crown of laurel leaves has split into the horns of a cuckold, a reference to Eugénie’s supposed liaison with Ollivier, who still rides securely on her back.

Process engraving, coloured by hand. E.344-1962
Historical context
The self-willed Spanish Empress was popularly believed to have the last word in the Imperial household in state as well as private matters. Here depicted as a cow (vache also means a loose woman) she tosses her family in the air, farting in disrespect at her husband, while her son whines helplessly on the ground. Napoleon’s Imperial crown of laurel leaves has split into the horns of a cuckold, a reference to Eugénie’s supposed liaison with Ollivier, who still rides securely on her back.
Subjects depicted
Cow
Cowbell
Laurels
The Empress Eugenie
Bonaparte, Napoleon III
Napoleon, Eugene Louis Jean Joseph
Ollivier, Émile
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
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.344-1962

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Record createdJanuary 28, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O185383/la-vespagnole-print-le-petit-alfred/
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