Overall: 72cm (in) x 57cm (in)
Charcoal and pencil on paper. Head and shoulders portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte after James Sant. Signed with initials GEF lower right. Contained in an Edwardian gilt slip titled ‘St Helena: The Last Phase’, and later frame. Sheet: 62cm (24.4in) x 46cm (18in).
‘St Helena, the Last Phase’ was commissioned to James Sant, RA (1820-1916) by the 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847-1929) for his book 'The Last Stage’(1900) in which the statesman mused on Napoleon's last years in exile and legacy. Moreover the former Prime Minister and two-time Foreign Secretary expounded on earlier writings about the French emperor, especially with regards to his doubts about their veracity and completeness. He further offered his thoughts on Napoleon's life in exile. Lord Rosebery gifted Sant’s original portrait to the City of Glasgow in 1907.