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The First Night of My Wedding, or Little Boney No Match For an Arch Dutchess

April 25, 1810
Not on view
The Duchess Marie Louise of Parma, Napoleon's new second wife, sits in her nightgown on a canopied bed. One leg rests on a crown on the floor labeled "Portable Water Closet." Looking at the viewer she says, "Still says sly Old Hodge says he / Great talkers do the least d'ye see / Well Well there's one hope left-- / I shall quickly carry him to his Journey's end." Behind her, Napoleon wearing a night cap and looking exhausted, supports his head with one hand and holds a bottle labeled "Dropsy." He says "Mort de Ma Vie I must I must brush off to Campiegne, and order seperate [sic] Beds."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The First Night of My Wedding, or Little Boney No Match For an Arch Dutchess
  • Series/Portfolio: "Tegg's Caricatures"
  • Artist: Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London)
  • Publisher: Thomas Tegg (British, London 1776–1846 London)
  • Subject: Napoléon Bonaparte (French, Ajaccio 1769–1821 St. Helena)
  • Subject: Marie Louise of Austria (Austrian, Vienna 1791–1847 Parma)
  • Published in: London
  • Date: April 25, 1810
  • Medium: Hand-colored etching
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 12 15/16 × 9 1/4 in. (32.8 × 23.5 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
  • Object Number: 59.533.2050
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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