Lot Essay
Morel-Fatio was appointed Curator of Marine Paintings to the Louvre in 1852, publishing a catalogue on the Museum's Maritime works two years later. In 1854 he was appointed official painter to France following the fleet on the Bomarsund expedition and then on to the Crimea and Orient.
His paintings were first exhibited at the Salon of 1833 and he was awarded medals in 1837, 1843 and 1848. His work was widely recognised at the time, not only for his ability to combine the realism and detail of a specific event, but because of the large number of engravings done after his work. He also painted views of France and his work regularly appeared in such revues as L'Illustration, Journal Universel and Magasin Pittoresque.
Historical Background:
After several years of unrest, as a result of which the Bourbon King Louis Philippe was obliged to abdicate, the French Second Republic was proclaimed in February 1848. In May, Louis-Napoleon, a nephew of Emperor Napoleon I, took his seat in the National Assembly and in December was elected President of the French Republic. Ambitious for the imperial crown of his late uncle, he then embarked on a policy to neutralise the National Assembly which came to fruition on 2 December 1851 when, in a bloodless coup d'état assisted by the army, he dissolved the Constitution. Later the same month, he was re-elected President for a further ten years in a popular vote so overwhelming that it spurred him on towards his ultimate goal. Events moved relentlessly in his favour and in November 1852, in the wake of another massive public majority, the second Empire was proclaimed with Louis-Napoleon assuming the title Napoleon III.
This restoration of the imperial state had been brought about through a carefully orchestrated campaign to convince the French people that an Emperor would achieve far more for their country's prestige than any elected President could hope to do. Thus, as the plebiscite of 21 November 1852 approached, Louis-Napoleon skilfully assumed some of the trappings of royalty to further his cause and travelled the country in flamboyant style. Nowhere was this more apparent than at sea and when he journeyed from Marseilles to Toulon on 27 September, it was a truly royal progress. The Prince naturally chose the largest and newest ship in the French fleet to convey him the 94-gun Napoléon. Laid down and built at Toulon as Le 24 Février, she had been renamed on the stocks and launched as Napoléon in 1850. Designed by the famous Dupuy de Lome, she was measured at 5,040 tons and carried a full ship rig in addition to her screw propeller. With a speed of 13 knots and a crew of 1,200 men, she was undoubtedly a ship 'fit for an Emperor'. Arriving in Toulon Roads, she was greeted by a thunderous salute from the other warships assembled there including the four paddlers Reine Hortense, Prony, L'Eclaireur and Berthollet.
L'Illustration, Journal Universel of 9 October 1852 gives an account of the arrival on September 27 in Toulon:
'Quatre heures de traversée ont porté le cortège présidentiel
du Château d'If devant la grande rade de Toulon. ...Ici, nouvelles salves. L'immense rade était couverte de vaisseaux du plus haut bord, pavoisée jusqu'à la flamme et vomissant, de concurrence avec le fort Lamalque et le Petit Gibraltar, des flots de feu et de fumée. Une foule immense couvrait le rivage sur un pourtour de plusieurs milles... M. Morel-Fatio, peintre, était du voyage, avec mission de reproduire, pour la perpétuer, cette scène...'.
His paintings were first exhibited at the Salon of 1833 and he was awarded medals in 1837, 1843 and 1848. His work was widely recognised at the time, not only for his ability to combine the realism and detail of a specific event, but because of the large number of engravings done after his work. He also painted views of France and his work regularly appeared in such revues as L'Illustration, Journal Universel and Magasin Pittoresque.
Historical Background:
After several years of unrest, as a result of which the Bourbon King Louis Philippe was obliged to abdicate, the French Second Republic was proclaimed in February 1848. In May, Louis-Napoleon, a nephew of Emperor Napoleon I, took his seat in the National Assembly and in December was elected President of the French Republic. Ambitious for the imperial crown of his late uncle, he then embarked on a policy to neutralise the National Assembly which came to fruition on 2 December 1851 when, in a bloodless coup d'état assisted by the army, he dissolved the Constitution. Later the same month, he was re-elected President for a further ten years in a popular vote so overwhelming that it spurred him on towards his ultimate goal. Events moved relentlessly in his favour and in November 1852, in the wake of another massive public majority, the second Empire was proclaimed with Louis-Napoleon assuming the title Napoleon III.
This restoration of the imperial state had been brought about through a carefully orchestrated campaign to convince the French people that an Emperor would achieve far more for their country's prestige than any elected President could hope to do. Thus, as the plebiscite of 21 November 1852 approached, Louis-Napoleon skilfully assumed some of the trappings of royalty to further his cause and travelled the country in flamboyant style. Nowhere was this more apparent than at sea and when he journeyed from Marseilles to Toulon on 27 September, it was a truly royal progress. The Prince naturally chose the largest and newest ship in the French fleet to convey him the 94-gun Napoléon. Laid down and built at Toulon as Le 24 Février, she had been renamed on the stocks and launched as Napoléon in 1850. Designed by the famous Dupuy de Lome, she was measured at 5,040 tons and carried a full ship rig in addition to her screw propeller. With a speed of 13 knots and a crew of 1,200 men, she was undoubtedly a ship 'fit for an Emperor'. Arriving in Toulon Roads, she was greeted by a thunderous salute from the other warships assembled there including the four paddlers Reine Hortense, Prony, L'Eclaireur and Berthollet.
L'Illustration, Journal Universel of 9 October 1852 gives an account of the arrival on September 27 in Toulon:
'Quatre heures de traversée ont porté le cortège présidentiel
du Château d'If devant la grande rade de Toulon. ...Ici, nouvelles salves. L'immense rade était couverte de vaisseaux du plus haut bord, pavoisée jusqu'à la flamme et vomissant, de concurrence avec le fort Lamalque et le Petit Gibraltar, des flots de feu et de fumée. Une foule immense couvrait le rivage sur un pourtour de plusieurs milles... M. Morel-Fatio, peintre, était du voyage, avec mission de reproduire, pour la perpétuer, cette scène...'.