A Post-Waterloo Satirical Print of Napoleon

A powerful French satire published after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. The fallen emperor rides a grotesque hybrid beast, 'part tiger, part ass', with fanged jaws, ass’s ears, and a Phrygian cap. Its collar reads Liberté and it excretes medals and honours, mocking the rewards of his reign. Napoleon, grinning complacently, reins the beast with a bloodied chain and carries a tricolour flag marked Honneur Patrie ("Honour, Fatherland"), surmounted not by an eagle but an owl. He declares "Quel Triomphe" ("What a triumph"), in biting irony. The monster is led by the Devil "Je le conduirai en Enfer" ("I will lead him to Hell"), and a Harlequin fool "C’est moi qui le guide" ("I’m the one guiding him"). Above, a strange bird with owl’s head and eagle’s wings carries a scroll reading Paix Générale ("General Peace"). At the roadside grow violets and red carnations, symbols of Bonapartist loyalty in 1815. Behind marches Death, crowned with flowers and wearing the Legion of Honour, bearing a scythe and scroll: "Je vais le suivre au Mont-St Jean" ("I will follow him to Mont-St-Jean" i.e., Waterloo). Lightning strikes from storm clouds above, aimed at both Napoleon and Death.