Napoleon stuurt Lodewijk Napoleon als koning in de vorm van een ooievaar naar Holland, 1806 Possibly 1806

Samuel Knight created this print in 1806. At first glance, you are met with a chaotic composition, dominated by figures suspended in mid-air. The artist uses the full sheet and stacks the composition with three distinct layers of human and animal figures from top to bottom, creating a hierarchy within the space. The figures in the print embody the political dynamics of the time. Napoleon is enthroned, with a smaller figure offering money, which suggests both power and corruption. Beneath them, a stork, crowned, carries Louis Napoleon toward the hopeful yet seemingly foolish figures of the Dutch people below. Knight’s use of caricature destabilizes notions of power and authority. By representing Napoleon as ‘Jupiter Bonney’, and Louis as a stork—a bringer of new life or perhaps a harbinger of something less desirable, depending on your point of view—Knight subverts the grandiosity of the Napoleonic regime. This print, with its layered structure and biting visual wit, functions as a critical commentary on European politics, prompting reflection on the nature of leadership and national identity.