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Lot Essay
Modeled in 1801, this portrait bust by sculptor Joseph Chinard captures a turning point in history—Napoleon Bonaparte just as he nears the apex of his extraordinary reign. At age thirty-two the sitter had just returned a hero from his campaigns in Egypt, engineered a coup establishing himself as First Consul of the Republic, and had that year signed the “Concordat of 1801”, thereby restoring the Catholic Church’s religious privileges while keeping the lands seized by the Revolution.
These successes, and those preceding them, are emblazoned across Bonaparte’s chest. His sash is inscribed with the names of his various victorious battles, each encircled by a laurel wreath, while his back collar reads VOILA LE FRUIT DE SON GENIE (“This is the fruit of his genius”). These messages of strength are accompanied by Napoleon’s distinct iconography, such as the “B” for Bonaparte that appears to the right side of his chest, which was later to become a leitmotif throughout his Empire. Similarly, the Latin phrase HIC EST HOMO MEDICUS LEONI (“This man is a doctor of a lion”) appears above a bas-relief on the socle depicting an allegory of a hurt lion licking the hands of the First Consul, a reference to the weakened nation that is now in the capable hands of Napoleon. In less than three years from when this bust was modeled, Napoleon would crown himself Emperor and the world would never be the same.
There are eight known plaster versions of the present bust, as well as a marble and a terracotta version. The other identical plaster versions of Chinard’s Napoleon are in the prestigious public collections of the Château de Malmaison, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Hôtel de Ville of Lyon (which was commissioned in 1801 by General Duhesme has since been lost), and Musée d’Art at d’Histoire of Geneva (acquired in 1802); as of 1999 the other three were in separate private Genevan collections. The final eight bust was a gift from Chinard to the Académie de Lyon which has since been lost. The present bust is assuredly one of the last four stated.
These successes, and those preceding them, are emblazoned across Bonaparte’s chest. His sash is inscribed with the names of his various victorious battles, each encircled by a laurel wreath, while his back collar reads VOILA LE FRUIT DE SON GENIE (“This is the fruit of his genius”). These messages of strength are accompanied by Napoleon’s distinct iconography, such as the “B” for Bonaparte that appears to the right side of his chest, which was later to become a leitmotif throughout his Empire. Similarly, the Latin phrase HIC EST HOMO MEDICUS LEONI (“This man is a doctor of a lion”) appears above a bas-relief on the socle depicting an allegory of a hurt lion licking the hands of the First Consul, a reference to the weakened nation that is now in the capable hands of Napoleon. In less than three years from when this bust was modeled, Napoleon would crown himself Emperor and the world would never be the same.
There are eight known plaster versions of the present bust, as well as a marble and a terracotta version. The other identical plaster versions of Chinard’s Napoleon are in the prestigious public collections of the Château de Malmaison, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Hôtel de Ville of Lyon (which was commissioned in 1801 by General Duhesme has since been lost), and Musée d’Art at d’Histoire of Geneva (acquired in 1802); as of 1999 the other three were in separate private Genevan collections. The final eight bust was a gift from Chinard to the Académie de Lyon which has since been lost. The present bust is assuredly one of the last four stated.