"His Monument": Napoleon’s Past and Future Are Filled with Dead Bodies Still Image

A two-faced Janus head of Napoleon atop a tower of skulls, overlooking a coastal landscape, with the German caption "Views into the past and future at the start of 1814."

Dublin Core

Title

"His Monument": Napoleon’s Past and Future Are Filled with Dead Bodies

Description

This Janus–like figuration of Napoleon haunts the viewer as it suggests a future filled with skulls. Indeed, the unprecedented deaths from war and conquest of the last two centuries make this image seem predictive.

Creator

None Identified

Source

Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Date

1814-00-00

Rights

Public Domain

Relation

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/159/|Collection de Vinck. Un siècle d'histoire de France par l'estampe, 1770-1870. Vol. 67 (pièces 8802-8908 bis), Directoire, Consulat et Empire

Format

JPEG

Language

German

Identifier

159

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Engraving

Physical Dimensions

9.2 x 13.4 cm

Title (French)

Blicke in die Vergangenheit und Zukunft beim Anfang des Jahres 1814

Citation

None Identified, “"His Monument": Napoleon’s Past and Future Are Filled with Dead Bodies,” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOUTION, accessed November 9, 2026, https://revolution.chnm.org/d/159.