Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Allegory of the eighteenth Brumaire (1801)

Painted by Antoine-François Callet, this is Allegory of Eighteen Brumaire, or France is Saved.



The painting is an allegory of the coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799), led by Napoleon Bonaparte and establishing the Consulate. [Explanation of 18 Brumaire here.]

Above, victorious France (after the Battle of Marengo) is crowned with laurel is an olive branch. She stands on a shield supported by the armies of the Republic. An Egyptian figure symbolizing Bonaparte's army is next to "France". Below is seen Hercules wearing the skin of the Nemean lion, which represents the government having crushed the enemies of Order and Peace.


Callet (1741-1823) was a painter of portraits and allegorical works such as this one. He was the official portraitist of Louis XVI. Most of his work predates 1800. Here are several examples:


 Ceres Begging for Jupiter’s Thunderbolt (1777)

Louis XVI, King of France and Navarre wearing his grand royal costume in 1779 (1789)

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