The king (r.) and queen (l.) of the Underworld sit side-by-side on twiggy nests. A gold carpet patterned with gold fleur de lys (the emblem of French royalty) lies beneath their clawed feet. Both figures are comical grotesques and are bestowed with large, irregular and cragged features. The she-devil sits in profile and confrontationally juts her hairy chin towards the face of her mate. She wears simple, ragged clothing and has a black ribband tied around her thick gullet. In her right hand she grasps the tiny figure of Napoleon around his waist. Napoleon, pernicious spawn of the devil, waves his sword and kicks his legs, anxious to get on his way. The he-devil, having just been bested by his wife's generative abilities, sits with shoulders slumped and dangles two Jacobins from his knees. Like the she-devil, he is depicted in plain clothing and wears a blue shirt and green breeches. He is equally grotesque, and has wings in addition to his horns and clawed feet.
Notes:
Published by R. Ackermann. Broadley dates this image to 10 Oct., 1813. However, the date on the Hay impression appears to be a '20,' and not a '10.' Here, the satirist uses thinly veiled scatological references to imply that the Jacobins and Napoleon both are the products of evil and putrefication. Whereas the Jacobins create revolutions within nations, Napoleon, the Corsican, is more of a threat in that he has the ability to destroy nations. 1805-10-20
Caption: The Devil having hatched, for a considerable time, some foul eggs to bring forth a/ Destructor of the finest Kingdom in Europe, produced at last some Jacobins. Pshaw! says/ her Infernal Majesty, You Bungler! Look here, I have hatched a Corsican; at this sight,/ the Devil was thunderstruck and remained silent.
Caption: Pub. October 20th 1805 by R. Ackermann No 101 Strand
Dialogue: He.--My Children destroy Altars and Thrones.
Dialogue: She.-- Mine does more, he destroys whole Nations.
Ackermann, Rudolph,
"Birth of Bonoparte"
(1805).
Prints, Drawings and Watercolors from the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection, Napoleonic Satires from the Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:232215/
This vast digital collection of military artwork from the 16th through 20th centuries, vividly documents all aspects of military and naval history, with emphasis on the history and illustration of world military and naval uniforms from the 17th century to …
The Napoleonic satires housed in the Anne S. K. Brown Military collection of the John Hay Library represent several important gifts made to the library in the 20th century. In addition to the Napoleonic satires located in the military collection …
