205 Years

Today, 5 May 2026, is the 205th anniversary of Napoleon's death on St Helena. As anniversaries should, it's an occasion that makes you step away from current preoccupations for a bit and cast yourself back into the past to the experiences and mindset of the people of the day. To mark the anniversary we've chosen two drawings by the naval officer and nautical novelist, Captain Frederick Marryat (1792-1848). Marryat began his naval career as a 14-year-old midshipman on HMS Imperieuse, commanded by the fabled Lord Cochrane. He first arrived at St Helena in 1815 on HMS Beaver as part of the naval contingent guarding against escape attempts by Napoleon. By 1820, he was back in St Helena on the same duty and thus was present in the months preceding Napoleon's death. His sketch of the former French Emperor was made in about March 2021, two months before he died, and his famous deathbed sketch was drawn 14 hours after Napoleon breathed his last. Soon afterwards, Marryat was despatched in command of HMS Rosario to carry the official news of Napoleon's passing to the British government.

Marryat's living portrait of Napoleon is sometimes referred to as a caricature, but it was unlikely to have been intended as one; it's just that he was a better writer than he was an artist. His simple deathbed scene is quite affecting, perhaps because the detail is minimal and the viewer's focus is drawn in to Napoleon's face and the small crucifix placed on his body. The drawing was often reproduced as a print and book illustration, often with the addition of a lot of fanciful detail, and circulated widely in Europe. Both the original images are held in the collections of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, part of Royal Museums Greenwich, which also has a large collection of Marryat's original papers, books and drawings. The museum also has a fine collection of paintings of St Helena. The Explore the Collections option on its website is a good place to start if you'd like to linger in the 1820s for a bit longer.