Augustus Earle (1793-1838) (Attributed.)  "Napoleon's Grave...

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€6,000 - €8,000

Augustus Earle (1793-1838) (Attributed.) 

"Napoleon's Grave on St. Helena c 1829" O.O.C., 143cms high x 100cms wide (56 1/2" x 39 1/2"). (1)

This painting of Napoleon’s Grave, on the island of St. Helena, can be attributed to the British artist Augustus Earle, who in the 1820's travelled to South America, Australia and New Zealand. It depicts a wooded valley, with, at its centre, a gravestone inscribed with a cross. A wooden fence surrounds the grave, while beyond can be seen the gable end of a small house. In the distance, there is a glimpse of the sea, and a sailing ship. The artist has emphasised the abundant flora and fauna of St. Helena, with birds flying in the air and foraging in the grass. The tall trees depicted in the foreground may be Cabbage Trees, a species native to the island and now almost extinct. Large plants grow in the foreground. However, within this depiction of a verdant valley, there is a hidden message. Two tall trees in the foreground are painted so as to form an outline or silhouette of the Emperor, standing with his arms folded and wearing a cocked hat. The silhouette is based on the 1820 watercolour by Francois-Joesph Sandmann Napoléon a Sainte-Hélene. With its hidden image, this painting is a coded work of art, designed to avoid British censors who would have disapproved of any glorification of Napoleon.

After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo, the French Emperor was exiled, in October 1815, to St. Helena, an isolated island in the South Atlantic. He lived at Longwood House, was effectively a captive, and spent his time dictating his memoirs. However in February 1821 Napoleon's health began to deteriorate rapidly and he died in May of that same year, his will stipulating that he be buried on the banks of the Seine in Paris. The Governor of St. Helena, Hudson Lowe, ignored these wishes and decided that the former French leader should be buried on the island, in the Valley of the Willows (now Sane Valley). The body was interred in the Valley of the Willows and remained there until 1840, when the British government agreed to a request that it be repatriated to Paris. Prince de Joinville transferred the Emperor's coffin onto the frigate "Belle-Poule", which had been painted black for the occasion, and it was taken back to France and re-interrred in L’Hotêl Les Invalides. Some years later, the land on St. Helena where the original grave is located was sold to the French government, along with Longwood House, and it is now an historic site maintained by the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Although Augustus Earle was born in London, his father was an American, and so his view of life in the colonies did not always accord with those of European settlers and administrators. He trained at the Royal Academy, and exhibited there while still a teenager. In February 1824, while on on a painting trip that had already taken him to the United States and South America, he was on board the British ship "Duke of Gloucester", bound for the Cape of Good Hope. When a gale blew up, he was marooned on the island of Tristan de Cunha. He spent eight months on the island, which was inhabited by just a few families. The nearby island of St. Helena was a victualling station for ships; Captain Cook had stopped there on his return from exploring New Zealand. Earle was eventually rescued by the ship "Admiral Cockburn" bound for Hobart, and he went on to make a three-year detailed visual record of life and landscapes of Australia and New Zealand. In the National Library of Australia there is a large collection of watercolour paintings by Earle. It includes fifteen watercolours, dated to 1824, depicting scenes on Tristan de Cunha. In 1828, Earle left Sydney and after a long voyage, including a stop at St. Helena, returned to London. In 1831 he joined Charles Darwin on HMS Beagle as ship's artist, but ill-health obliged him to retire at Montevideo. He died in London in 1832. Earle's paintings in the National Library of Australia are a valuable record of Aboriginal and Maori people and their lives, and indicate a point of view that often ran contrary to mainstream European attitudes. He is perhaps best-known for his paintings depicting the ill-treatment of slaves. In the Royal Collections there is an album, presented to King George IV. Illustrated by Earle, it contains drawings showing the plight of slaves in the Caribbean. Earle was considered by those who knew him to be an individual, a non-conformist, even eccentric. This coded painting accords with the image of an artist happy to circumvent official restrictions, in a manner that was both clever and subversive.

Dr. Peter Murray, 2023

More Information

Faint initials of A.E. bottom left.
Some overall cracking to canvas. Some repair to back of canvas not evident at front.