Portret van Napoleon I Bonaparte 1805

Antoine Achille Bourgeois de la Richardière created this portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte using the technique of stipple engraving. The image is built up from thousands of tiny dots, each carefully applied to a copper plate. This was an indirect process: the artist would have used a tool called a roulette, with a textured head, to create the initial pattern. The plate would then be inked and wiped, with the ink remaining in the recesses. Finally, paper would be pressed against the plate, transferring the image. The choice of stipple engraving, as opposed to a more direct method like etching, reflects the immense control Napoleon sought over his image. The process allowed for subtle gradations of tone, a flattering softness. It speaks to the ambition of the sitter, and also to the many hands involved in producing images, at a time when Napoleon was revolutionizing both politics and manufacturing. We can read this print, then, as not just a portrait of a man, but an artifact of empire.