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| Title | Le Déserteur |
| Creator | [Dubois, Frédéric, 1760 - ?] |
| Place of Publication | [France -- Paris] |
| Date | 1815 |
| Caption Text | Caption on image:
Le Déserteur (The Deserter)
Dialogue:
Braves Français, combattez pour moi (Brave Frenchmen, fight for me)
Mont St. Jean
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| Historical Notes | Much of Napoleon's support was based on his bravery and battlefield prowess. One goal of the Royalist caricaturists was to counter the official propaganda that highlighted Napoleon's battlefield genius. Destroying the image of Napoleon as hero was made easier by his propensity to abandon his army whenever they were in danger of defeat (Egypt, Russia).
When the defeat at Waterloo was obvious, Napoleon withdrew to organize the defense of Paris. We know this drawing refers to Waterloo because of the Mont St. Jean in the background. The Mont St. Jean was the ridge where Wellington held off the French advance. Royalist propaganda and numerous caricatures represented Napoleon's retreat to Paris as cowardice. In this drawing, he flees on foot from Waterloo, looking over his shoulder with an expression of terror. His sword has been dropped on the ground in his haste. In the background is the battle: tiny French soldiers against a solid mass of enemy troops. He shouts over his shoulder: "Brave Frenchmen, fight for me."
Reference source: George #12564, Clerc #99.
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| Publishing Notes | Published April 17, 1815. Dépot légal July 21, 1815. Also found in the De Vinck collection (#9579) at the Bibliothèque Nationale (Paris)
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| Subjects (LCSH) | Political cartoons
History--Caricatures & cartoons
Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821
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| Geographic Coverage | France |
| Digital Collection | Napoleonic Period Collection
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| Digital ID Number | NAP51 |
| Repository | University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division. |
| Repository Collection | Napoleon Collection |
| UW Reference Number | F18 |
| Object Type | Print |
| Physical Description | Etching, hand colored ; plate mark 28 x 21 cm. on sheet 35 x 26 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. |
