16 - Ludwig Ferdinand SCHNORR VON CAROLSFELD (1788–1853)

Ludwig Ferdinand SCHNORR VON CAROLSFELD (1788–1853) Portrait of Napoleon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte, Duke of Reichstadt (1811–1832). Oil on canvas. 1832. H. 96 x W. 72 cm. Frame: H. 112 x W. 92 cm. Provenance - Probably commissioned by Joseph Bonaparte in 1832. - Artist’s collection, Vienna. - Later passed to his daughter, Wilhelmine Carolina Aloysia Ottilie Schnorr von Carolsfeld, wife of Tschudi (1820–1897), Vienna. - Collection of Hugo Egidius Tschudi (1851–1911), Bern. - Collection of Hans Gilg von Tschudi (1901–1931), Bern. - Collection of Rolf Bürgli (in 1936), Bern. - Private German collection. - Private French collection. Related Works - Ludwig Ferdinand Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Portrait of the Duke of Reichstadt, drawn from life, February 1832, pastel, (formerly in the Rolf Bürgli Collection, Bern; current location unknown). - Ludwig Ferdinand Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Portrait of the Duke of Reichstadt, pencil and colored pencil drawing, exhibited in 1877 at the Historical Art Exhibition in Vienna (then in the Tschudi Collection; current location unknown). - Ludwig Ferdinand Schnorr von Carolsfeld, *Napoleon’s Son*, captioned: “Died in Vienna, July 22, 1832. Drawn from life in February of the same year by Schnorr, and lithographed by the artist.” ,” signed “L. Schnorr v. C.,” Rittner and Goupil, Paris 1835, engraving, BNF, De Vinck Ref. 8645 (ill. 3). - Augustin-Claude-Simon Legrand, Napoleon, Duke of Reichstadt, Captioned “Copied from an original painting sent by the Prince in April 1832 to the Count of Survilliers, his uncle,” in Paris at Dauty, publisher, 2 Rue Vivienne, engraving, BNF, De Vinck, 8644. - Anonymous (reattributed to Ludwig Ferdinand Schnorr von Carolsfeld), Portrait of the Duke of Reichstadt in civilian attire, c. 1830–1835, signed “L.S.,” Rome, Museo Napoleonico (inv. MN 613) (ill. 4). - Peter Krafft, Portrait of the Duke of Reichstadt (Napoleon II) in the white sergeant major’s uniform of the 1st Infantry Regiment, in front of the Bellaria, oil on canvas, Osenat auction, March 24, 2013 (sold for €330,000) (ill. 1). - Johann Baptist Lampi II, The Duke of Reichstadt, early 19th century, oil on canvas, Budapest, Magyar Nemzeti Galéria (inv. 485.B) (ill. 2). History On March 20, 1811, Empress Marie-Louise (1791–1847) gave birth to the long-awaited heir of Napoleon I (1769–1821). As Imperial Prince of France, Napoleon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte was granted the title of King of Rome at birth. Upon the fall of the Empire, the abdication proclaimed at the Élysée Palace on June 22, 1815, stated: “My political life is over, and I proclaim my son, under the title of Napoleon II, Emperor of the French.” ” This proclamation was approved by Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, and the Chamber of Peers. Napoleon II was thus, by right, “Emperor of the French” for two weeks, although he was not in France but in Vienna, where he had been residing since 1814. His grandfather, Emperor Francis I of Austria (1768–1835), eager to make him an Austrian prince, conferred upon him the title of Duke of Reichstadt in 1818. Beginning in 1822, the young prince embarked on a military career, which was abruptly cut short by his premature death in 1832. Portrayed from his earliest months by the greatest artists of his time, Napoleon’s son gave rise to two major iconographic traditions: that of the heir to the French Empire, in the guise of the King of Rome, and that of the Austrian prince, and, for some Bonapartists, the potential restorer of the First Empire, embodied by the Duke of Reichstadt. This second iconographic tradition, to which our work belongs, remains particularly rare. To our knowledge, only the painting by Peter Krafft (1780–1856), *Duke of Reichstadt (Napoleon II)* in the white sergeant major’s uniform of the 1st Infantry Regiment, in front of the Bellaria, offers a comparable example of a large-format historical portrait executed during the young prince’s lifetime (ill. 1). Another portrait, painted by Johann Baptist Lampi II and now housed at the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest, may also be mentioned, although its exact date of creation is unknown (ill. 2). Our painting differs from traditional depictions of the duke in its choice of attire. The young prince appears here dressed in civilian clothing, presenting an image distinct from that of the Habsburgs. This choice seems to reveal a growing awareness of his Napoleonic identity, which became increasingly pronounced during the final years of his life. This interpretation is reinforced by the identity of the patron and the presumed intended destination of the portrait. The last portrait of Napoleon’s heir, commissioned by Joseph Bonaparte. Archives preserved at the Belvedere Palace indicate that Ludwig Ferdinand Schnorr von Carolsfeld was commissioned by Joseph Bon