Bust of Napoleon I from the Workshop of Chaudet

This marble bust of Napoleon I Bonaparte (1769–1821) was made in France, apparently in the 1810s, and is attributed to the workshop of Antoine-Denis Chaudet. It recalls the man whose army occupied Moscow in the autumn of 1812.

Chaudet (1763–1810) was a French Neoclassical sculptor who won the Prix de Rome in 1784 and became a member of the Institut de France in 1805. His clay model of 1804 became the basis of the portrait that Napoleon made his official state image. More than a thousand versions of this portrait were produced, in different sizes and materials, including bronze, terracotta, plaster and porcelain.

On 2 (14) September 1812 the French army entered Moscow; the next morning Napoleon occupied the Kremlin, and on 6 (18) October he ordered his troops to leave the plundered city. This bust is carved from marble and polished.