Tombe van Napoleon I Bonaparte in de Dôme des Invalides te Parijs 1867

This is Maria Vos's pencil sketch of Napoleon's tomb in Paris. While undated, we can assume that it was made sometime in the mid to late 19th century. The tomb is situated within Les Invalides, an expansive complex originally built by Louis XIV to house war veterans. By the time Vos made this sketch, it had already become a kind of museum of French military history. Napoleon, who died in 1821, was finally interred in the Invalides in 1861, a move intended by Louis-Napoleon to connect his own reign to the glory of the first French Empire. Vos's sketch presents an intimate and informal view of this monument, which is usually captured in more grandiose terms. One could consult period guidebooks, architectural plans, and even military records to understand better how the Tomb of Napoleon, and by extension, this unassuming drawing, became part of France's national narrative.