Tomb of Napoleon, Les Invalides, Paris, Antique Lithograph, circa 1861

A tinted lithograph of the tomb of Napoleon in the crypt beneath the dome of Les Invalides in Paris. The viewer looks through a wide arch between massive square piers into the open circular crypt, where the great sarcophagus stands on its plinth, its lid rolled at the ends. Colossal draped figures stand against the piers, bronze lamps hang on chains from the coffered ceiling, and the floor is laid with bold concentric circles of colored marble. Above the sarcophagus, the balustrade of the upper church can be seen, with visitors looking down.

Visitors animate the scene: a family with a small boy at left, several officers in uniform and cloaks at right, and a single figure walking past a relief panel at far left.

Napoleon's remains were brought back to Paris from St. Helena in 1840, and the tomb designed by Louis Visconti was completed in 1861, when the body was placed in the sarcophagus. The sheet is lettered "TOMBEAU DE L'EMPEREUR AUX INVALIDES, Interieur de la Crypte" and numbered 36 in the series "Paris et ses Environs." It was drawn and lithographed by A. Provost, printed by Auguste Bry at 114 rue du Bac, and published by Gihaut Frères, Boulevard des Italiens.

The technique is lithography printed with a second, cream tint stone, with highlights left in the white of the paper, so the marble piers and statues seem to glow against the warmer tint. A ruled frame surrounds the image, with the series title above and the lettering below.

For an admirer of Napoleon or of French history, this is an evocative piece; it would look superb in a gilt frame in a study, a library or a formal sitting room.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.