Yet, his lasting legacy, personified by his son, Napoleon II, and his nephew and eventual heir, Louis-Napoleon, is less known. The story of Napoleon’s downfall and his exile on Saint Helena is nearly as well-known as that of his reign. Napoleon has been used as the subject for many different aspects of French art and culture, with many French impressionist artists, French painters, and French storytellers using his rule and conquests as inspiration to tell interesting art stories. Historians have studied Napoleon and the Napoleonic era for countless years to understand his leadership and revolutionary ideals. Undoubtedly, French history – and world history - would be written quite differently without the legacy of Napoleon. He was one of the greatest conquerors of modern history, expanding the French Empire and dominating European affairs in the years following the French Revolution. The gutsy, shrewd, and ambitious young general rose through the ranks of the French military, eventually seizing political power and naming himself the very first Emperor of France.
Today he is a household name and an outright celebrity of Western and European history, and an enduring icon of French culture: Napoleon Bonaparte. This portrait by Joseph Franque depicts Napoleon immediately prior to his disastrous attempt to invade Russia in 1812.
