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| Title | Il Essuie de Grands Revers |
| Subtitle | ou Les Taches ineffaçables (The indelible stains) |
| Creator | [Elie, Charles] |
| Place of Publication | [France -- Paris] |
| Date | ca. 1814 |
| Caption Text | Caption on image:
Il Essuie de Grands Revers (see translation comments below)
ou les Taches ineffaçables (the indelible stains)
Signage:
[Pyramid:] KLEBER
[Across ghost's robe] Vengeance
[Words on banner:] Danguin, Espagne (Spain), Moscou (Moscow), Leipsic (Leipszig)
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| Historical Notes | The title of this caricature is a play on words: The verb essuyer, which means to wipe, has a secondary meaning of to suffer a loss or reproach. Thus the title can be translated "He wipes out his failures" or "He suffers some reversals."
In the drawing, Napoleon wipes with a sponge across a blood-stained list of lost battles and massacres held by a satanic creature. The stains do not wipe away. The pyramid in the background is labeled Kléber; a ghost with a dagger embedded in his neck and the word Vengeance on his robe reaches out from behind the pyramid.
When the Egyptian campaign failed in 1799, Napoleon returned to France, leaving General Kléber (1753-1800) in charge. Kléber won an important campaign against the Turks at Heliopolis, but was later assassinated by a religious fanatic. It was rumored at the time that Napoleon had ordered the assassination.
Reference source: Clerc #15
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| Publishing Notes | Also found in the De Vinck Collection (#8826) at the Bibliothèque Nationale (Paris) and Collection de l'histoire de France, Qb1, 1813.
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| Subjects (LCSH) | Political cartoons
History--Caricatures & cartoons
Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821
Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815
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| Geographic Coverage | France |
| Digital Collection | Napoleonic Period Collection
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| Digital ID Number | NAP010 |
| Repository | University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division. |
| Repository Collection | Napoleon Collection |
| UW Reference Number | F6 |
| Object Type | Print |
| Physical Description | Etching, hand colored ; plate mark 24 x 14 cm. on sheet 28 x 20 cm. |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from original drawing in RGB at 200-400 dpi, saved in TIFF format, changed to indexed color, enhanced and resized using Adobe Photoshop, and imported as JPEG2000 using Contentdm software's JPEG2000 Extension. 2006. |
