The famous 'Hieroglyphic' portrait of Napoleon

VOLTZ, Johann Michael.

Napoleon. The First, and Last, by the Wrath of Heaven Emperor of the Jacobins, Protector of the Confederation of Rogues, Mediator of the Hellish League, Grand Cross of the Legion of Horror, Commander in Chief of the Legions of Skeletons left at Moscow, Smolensk, Leipzig, &c., Head Runner of Runaways, Mock High-Priest of the Sanhedrim, Mock Prophet of Mussulmen, Mock Pillar of the Christian Faith, Inventor of the Syrian Method of disposing of his own Sick by sleeping Draughts, or of captured Enemies by the Bayonet; First Grave-Digger for burying alive; Chief Gaoler of the Holy Father and of the King of Spain, Destroyer of Crowns, and Manufacturer of Counts, Dukes, Princes, and Kings; Chief Douanier of the Continental System, Head Butcher of the Parisian and Toulonese Massacres, Murderer of Hoffer, Palm, Wright, nay, of his own Prince the noble and virtuous Duke of Enghien, and of a Thousand others; Kidnapper of Ambassadors, High-Admiral of the Invasion Praams, Cup-bearer of the Jaffa Poison, Arch-Chancellor of Waste-Paper Treaties, Arch-Treasurer of the Plunder of the World, the Sanguinary Coxcomb, Assassin, and Incendiary......to / Make Peace With !!! / This Hieroglyphic Portrait of the Destroyer is faithfully copied from a German Print, with the parody of his assumed titles. The Hat of the Destroyer represents a discomfited French Eagle, maimed and crouching, after his Conflict with the Eagles of the North. His Visage is composed of the Carcases of the Victims of his Folly and Ambition, who perished on the Plains of Russia and Saxony. His Throat is encircled with the Red Sea, in Allusion to his drowned Hosts. His Epaulette is a Hand, leading the Rhenish Confederation, under the flimsy Symbol of a Cobweb. The Spider is an Emblem of the Vigilance of the Allies, who have inflicted on That Hand a deadly Sting!'
London: Rudolph Ackermann, 1814. Etching with original hand colour, set in letterpress. Sheet 480 x 295mm.

Faint mount burn.

An important English anti-Napoleon propaganda broadsheet, based on the work of Johann Michael Voltz (1784-1858), featuring a satirical portrait of the French emperor. His hat is the Imperial Eagle; his face is composed of dead bodies; 'His Throat is encircled with the Red Sea, in Allusion to his drowned Hosts'; his epaulette is a grasping hand; and his uniform is a cobweb over the 'Rheinish Confederation'.
This satire was one of the most widespread depictions of Napoleon: according to the British Museum: 'Versions were produced in nine European countries, twenty-three in Germany alone'.

British Museum Satires 12202.
Stock ID : 22183