Napoleons terugkeer van Elba, 1815 Possibly 1815

This hand-colored etching, made around 1815 by the British artist George Cruikshank, shows Napoleon’s return from exile on the island of Elba. It’s a print, so one of many impressions taken from a matrix, probably a metal plate. The linear quality you see comes from the engraver’s tool, which incises lines into the surface; these are then inked, and pressed onto paper. Prints like these were a crucial form of mass media at the time, and Cruikshank was a master of the form. Here, he satirizes Napoleon’s return by depicting him as a demonic figure descending upon a group of tailors, who are shown in disarray. Notice the tailor’s tools – shears, thimbles – scattered on the floor, alongside their finished garments and pattern cuttings, and the figures themselves sent sprawling, underscoring the disruption caused by Napoleon's ambition. The work is full of satirical details, reflecting a specific political viewpoint, and the printmaking process enabled Cruikshank’s critique to reach a wide audience. The fact that it is a print, rather than a painting or sculpture, speaks to the broad social context in which it was made.