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Napoléon Bonaparte (Napoleon III)
Coloured litograph, 16.3 x 10.8 cm, by Henri Jannin  (1816–after 1867)
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris


Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, Napoleon's nephew, is here presented with a softened physiognomy framed by an abundant floral motif, aligning with mid-nineteenth-century visual conventions that sought to legitimise imperial identity through romanticised portraiture. The stylised use of botanical ornament, iconography common to the Second Empire, conveys an effort to associate his image with natural order and dynastic continuity, reflecting broader tendencies in post-revolutionary French iconography. Despite the simplicity of composition, the piece operates as a subtle tool of political persuasion, cloaking ambition in the language of sentimental authority.