Many engravers have produced medallic portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte. The majority of them
have copied from artists, and many of the copies are, to say the least, deficient in artistry.
The selection presented here includes some of the better ones, that is to say, the better
looking. Certainly there is flattery involved, but perhaps idealism is proper in portraying
important people.
In June of 1797 Liguria was established as a republic. On a medal commemorating this event
(Hennin 791) Hieronymus Vassallo portrayed NAPOLEONE BONAPARTE, commanding general of the
French army on Italy.
A medal struck after the establishment of the Subalpine Republic (Bramsen 226) has a portrait of NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, FIRST CONSUL OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC engraved by Lavy.
A medal offering homage of the City of Lille (Bramsen 263) has a businesslike treatment of the young BONAPARTE, FIRST CONSUL OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC by H. August.
A less flattering NAPOLEON BONAPARTE FIRST CONSUL OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC was engraved by Dupre for Bramsen 272, the subscription medal for restoring the Orleans Joan of Arc monument.
We find Poize's BONAPARTE FIRST CONSUL FOR LIFE, YEAR X OF THE REPUBLIC on Bramsen 228.
