AFTER CHARLES-LOUIS CORBET (1758-1808), LATE 19TH/EARLY 20TH CENTURY

The important plaster bust of Napoleon by Charles-Louis Corbet (1758-1808; now in Rueil-Malmaison, musée nationale du château), of which this bust is a copy, is one the few portraits of Napoleon made before his coup d'état in 1799. In 1798, the sculptor Charles-Louis Corbet was commissioned by the revolutionary government to portray General Bonaparte from life. The image of Napoleon portrayed here is distinctly different from the short-haired, austere man seen up to that point. The more romantic image reflected Napoleon's growing popularity in France at the time and may have played a role in the creation of the personality cult that surrounded the future Emperor.