The Briars St. Helena
Description:
Trees line the foreground of this image and follow a pavement to a house, The Briars, in the distance. The Briars sits at the middle of the image: it is a fair-sized house with two floors. In the background, a calm Mount Helena looms over the house and is surrounded by more mountains.
Copyright:
Copyright 2009, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Primary Works:
From Recollections of the Emperor Napoleon. 2nd edn. (1845)
Accession Number:
F3944 A14
Height (in centimeters):
13
Width (in centimeters):
22
Printing Context
"The Briars St. Helena" was engraved by Charles Graf for “her majesty,” though it is never clear to whom Graf is referring. According to Elizabeth Abell, this image was drawn the day Napoleon reached St. Helena; however, the artist’s name is not given. Copies of this drawing were then published in Abell’s Recollections of the Emperor Napoleon decades later. The delay in publication was to protect Abell’s reputation, as she would have been shunned by the British public for befriending Napoleon. A copy of this book entered the private collection of Chester H. Thordarson before arriving in Special Collections at the University of Wisconsin—Madison.Associated Events
Battle of Waterloo: In the modern-day country of Belgium, the Battle of Waterloo was fought in what is now Belgium between Napoleon’s French forces and the British Seventh Coalition. The battle was waged as part of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. A French loss meant the exile of Napoleon to St. Helena, where he spent the remainder of his life (C. Summerville, Who Was at Waterloo 411-417).Associated Places
Longwood HouseSubject
This image depicts The Briars, temporary residence of Napoleon during his exile to St. Helena. The calmness of the image, including the faint, peaceful rendering of the extinct volcano, Mount Helena, perhaps represents Napoleon's own "extinct" power. Unlike earlier Romantic depictions of volcanoes then, this image utilizes a portrayal of Mt. Helena that represents an absence of potency.Significance
This image of Mount Helena marks a turning point for volcanic depictions in Romantic culture. The fear and awe once evoked by images of rampant volcanoes is little more; instead, Mt. Helena is seen as powerless and at rest. One could draw a political parallel to Napoleon as he is also “at rest,” lacking the power he once possessed. The volcano is distant and appears as an afterthought in the image. Because scientists knew that the volcano had become extinct, the image does not give any sense of anxiety that it will erupt. Instead, the knowledge gained by volcanologists of the time has contributed to a scenic—not fear-inducing—view of Mt. Helena.Function
Charles Graf signed his drawing “to her majesty.” It can therefore be concluded that the image was intended to be viewed by royalty—though to which royalty Graf was referring is still unknown. Whether or not the drawing was ever viewed by “her majesty” is also unknown. However, the drawing was transformed into an aquatint and published in Elizabeth Abell's Recollections of the Emperor Napoleon in order to show the reading audience what The Briars looked like upon Napoleon’s arrival. The image’s powerless volcano functions as a reflection of Napoleon’s own powerlessness on the volcanic island.Bibliography
Guerard, Albert. Napoleon I; A Great Life in Brief. New York: Knopf, 1956.Long Title
Recollections of the Emperor Napoleon, during the first three years of his captivity on the island of St. Helena: including the time of his residence at her father’s house, "The Briars," / by Mrs. Abell (late Miss Elizabeth Balcombe)Featured in Exhibit:
From the Collection:
Engraver:
Image Date:
1845
Publisher:
John Murray
