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Bust of Napoleon III, 1873
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, 1827–1875)
Marble; H. 20 1/2 in. (52.1 cm)
Inscribed (on front vertical tranche): NAPOLEON.III.
Signed (in script on left tranche): Chiselhurst/13 Janvier 1873/Jbte Carpeaux
Purchase, Anne and George Blumenthal Fund, Munsey and Fletcher Funds, funds from various donors, Agnes Shewan Rizzo Bequest and Mrs. Peter Oliver Gift, 1974 (1974.297)

Begun in 1872, this portrait of Napoleon III was not completed until after the fallen emperor's death on January 9, 1873. Summoned to England in early January by the Prince Impérial, the son of Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie, Carpeaux arrived in time only to attend and sketch the funeral services at Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Chiselhurst. The resulting likeness captures the emperor's saddened mood, preoccupied as he was by his defeat by the Prussians at Sedan in 1870 and his subsequent exile and ill health. Empress Eugénie cherished the bust for nearly fifty years until her death in 1920.

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    Bust of Napoleon III, 1873
    Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, 1827–1875)
    Marble; H. 20 1/2 in. (52.1 cm)
    Inscribed (on front vertical tranche): NAPOLEON.III.
    Signed (in script on left tranche): Chiselhurst/13 Janvier 1873/Jbte Carpeaux
    Purchase, Anne and George Blumenthal Fund, Munsey and Fletcher Funds, funds from various donors, Agnes Shewan Rizzo Bequest and Mrs. Peter Oliver Gift, 1974 (1974.297)