Antonio Canova
Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker
1806
Carved by Antonio Canova between 1802 and 1806, 'Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker' is a 3.45-metre-tall idealised nude marble portrait commissioned by the emperor to cast himself as a modern Roman Caesar. Napoleon, on receiving it, reportedly found the full nudity embarrassing and had it hidden in the Louvre basement. After his 1815 defeat at Waterloo, the French monarchy presented the sculpture to the Duke of Wellington, who installed it at the foot of the grand staircase at Apsley House in London — where it now stands, a conqueror gazing monumentally down at his British conqueror's guests.
Exhibition Venue
Image source: Wikimedia Commons