Exhibition at Bullock's Museum of Bonaparte's Carriage Taken at Waterloo
Original title: Exhibition at Bullock's Museum of Bonaparte's Carriage Taken at Waterloo
kurzbeschreibung
In this hand-colored etching from 1816, Thomas Rowlandson depicts Londoners crowding around Napoleon's carriage, captured at the Battle of Waterloo, on display at Bullock's Museum of Natural Curiosities. The print captures the reactions of sightseers to this relic of war.
Description
A carriage adorned with figures and objects from the Battle of Waterloo commands attention. Curious, startled, and horrified people press around the vehicle. Paintings and sculptures hang in the background, while bright light streams through large windows. Grays and browns dominate, with color accents in the clothing and exhibits.
Context
The etching appeared on January 10, 1816, only months after the Battle of Waterloo. At Bullock's Museum in London, Napoleon's captured carriage was presented as a crowd-pulling spectacle. Rowlandson thus recorded a contemporary mass event that reflects the Waterloo enthusiasm in Britain.
Impact
Documentary precision combines with satirical observation of the crowd. Curiosity, voyeurism, and horror create an ambivalent mood between triumph and dread.
Technique
For this hand-colored etching, the lines were first etched into the printing plate and then colored by hand. This allowed fine details of figures and carriage to be reproduced, and the print could be multiplied inexpensively for a broad audience.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)