Napoleon statuette Cour des Invalides

The statue of Napoleon I is almost 4 meters high and was cast from the metal of 16 ca-
not taken from the Russian and Austrian armies during the campaign of 1805, kept at the Metz Arsenal.
It was installed on July 20, 1833, the anniversary of the July Revolution of 1830, at the top of the
column of the Grande Armée, Place Vendôme, at the initiative of the government of Louis-Philippe. This one
wanted to replace the white fleur-de-lys flag which had been substituted for the statue of Napoleon I in
Roman emperor, itself withdrawn under the Restoration in April 1814 and destroyed in 1817.

This time, Napoleon is represented not as a sovereign, but as a military leader, dressed as a colonel of the
mounted hunters of the Guard. This portrait therefore offers one of the most famous images of Napoleon I,
that of the "little corporal", dressed in his coat - often called frock coat, wearing the cocked hat, his hand
on the window. On his chest, we can see the Legion of Honor as well as the badge of the Iron Crown,
two distinctions that he himself created in 1802 and 1805. He holds in his hand a lorgnette, an instrument
essential observation on the battlefield. On his left side hangs a sword, which could
being the one he carried at Austerlitz in 1805. Finally, at his feet, a bomb and cannonballs recall his
initial artillery training.