Napoleon (center) walks through the "Valley of Death," menaced on all sides by the wrath of his enemies. He stands with his sword drawn and bloody; its edge has been dulled and damaged by the battles he has fought. His hat has fallen off his head and his expression registers terror. Emblems of Rome, Turkey, and Prussia appear in the sky above and rain fire and lightning down upon him. He is also attacked from below by "lesser" animals that creep out of the "Lethian Ditch" that borders the foreground of the image. Reinish Rats, Dutch Frogs, an American Rattlesnake and a Prussian Scarecrow all symbolize countries that had been diminished by the Napoleonic conflict. Behind Napoleon, the Ditch of Styx forms another border to the valley. As he walks through the valley Napoleon is attacked by the British Lion, the Russian Bear and the Sicilian Terrier. The figure of Death (left) on the back of a mule decorated with livery, on which is inscribed "True Royal Spanish Breed," leaps across the "Ditch of Styx." In it, Joseph Bonaparte drowns. Death, accompanied by the Portuguese Wolf, holds an hourglass tight in his left hand, and in his right he carries a flaming lance, aimed at Napoleon. While the allied countries are represented as strong opponents, the uprising in Spain and Portugal was a decisive blow to Napoleon's campaign.
Notes:
Inscription: Publih'd Septr. 24th 1808 by H. Humphrey 27 St. James's Street London.
Printed Signature: Js. Gillray invt. & ft.
Label(s): Dreadful Descent of ye Roman Meteor. The Turkish New-Moon Rising in Blood. The Spirit of Charles ye XII. The Imperial Eagle emerging from a Cloud.
Label(s): The Rhinish Confederation of starved Rats, crawling out of the Mud. Dutch Frogs spitting out their Spite. American Rattle Snake shaking his Tail. Prussian Scare-crow attempting to Fly.
"The valley of the shadow of death"
(1808).
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:232468/
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 …
