Napoleon Bonaparte on Board the 'Bellerophon' in Plymouth Sound

Charles Lock Eastlake's Napoleon Bonaparte on Board the Bellerophon of 1815 depicts the fallen emperor's surrender following his defeat at Waterloo, showing him on the deck of the British warship that received him off Rochefort as he sought British asylum. Eastlake was at Plymouth when the Bellerophon anchored in the Sound, and he made studies of Napoleon on deck as crowds of small boats surrounded the ship. The painting documents one of history's most dramatic moments of political humiliation, capturing Napoleon's stoic bearing in defeat. Eastlake's eyewitness observation gave the work documentary authenticity unusual in history painting.

Eastlake's composition captures the unique drama of the scene with careful attention to the ship and the surrounding boats. The portrait of Napoleon, based on Eastlake's direct observation from a nearby vessel, gives the painting particular documentary authority.