A selection of Napoleon Bonaparte propaganda prints

An exhibition of propaganda prints focused on Napoleon Bonaparte is set to take place at The British Museum.

Bonaparte and the British: Prints and Propaganda in the Age of Napoleon showcases both positive and negative propaganda that surrounded the French emperor in the 19th century.

The show looks at the rise of both French and British political satire in cartoons throughout this era.

It includes work from The British Museum’s own collection, as well as loans from other archives including Sir John Soane’s Museum and the Wellington Collection at Apsley House.

Cartoonists featured include James Gillray, Thomas Rowlandson, George Cruikshank and Richard Newton. 

The exhibition is being put on to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, and also includes a private collection of watercolour paintings of the battlefield, which will be on show to the public for the first time.

It was curated and designed by The British Museum’s in-house team. An accompanying book of prints by author Tim Clayton and curator Sheila O’Connell has also been produced.

Bonaparte and the British: Prints and Propaganda in the Age of Napoleon runs from 5 February – 16 August 2015 at Room 90, The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG. Entrance is free.

All images © The Trustees of the British Museum.

 

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