The Bonaparte family home in Ajaccio: painting by Fontenay, 1849. © akg-images / Laurent Lecat
The Bridge of Arcole, scene of a legendary victory, 1796; by Baron Louis-Albert-GuillainGros. © The Art Archive / Musée du Château de Versailles / Gianni Dagli Orti
Bonaparte at the Bridge of Arcole: Antoine-Jean Gros, 1801. © Corbis
The Victor of Italy: an unfinished portrait by David,1797. © The Art Archive / Musée du Château deVersailles / Gianni Dagli Orti
The Lure of the Orient: the Battle of Aboukir as seen by Lejeune. © The Art Archive / Muséedu Château de Versailles / Gianni Dagli Orti
The Battle of the Pyramids: a 19th century popular print. © The Art Archive / Musée CarnavaletParis / Gianni Dagli Orti
The Imperial Moment: Napoleon’s Coronation asrecorded by David. © The Art Archive / Musée du Louvre Paris / Gianni Dagli Orti
The Corsican Spider in His Web: a caricature by Thomas Rowlandson. © Guildhall Library,City of London / The Bridgeman Art Library
Fighting for the Dunghill: James Gillray’s Vision of 1798. © Courtesy of the Warden and Scholarsof New College, Oxford / The Bridgeman Art Library
Consolidating Christianity: a satirical 19th century broadsheet. © Roger-Viollet / Topfoto
Maria Walewska, Napoleon’s Polish mistress: a portrait by Robert Lefevre. © akg-images / Erich Lessing
Napoleon in his study at the Tuileries: a study by David, 1811. © The Gallery Collection / Corbis
The Passage of the Bérésina: the miseries of the MoscowCampaign. © The Art Archive / Musée Carnavalet Paris / Gianni Dagli Orti
Above: Longwood House on Saint Helena: where Napoleon spent hiscaptivity. © Kent Kobersteen / National Geographic Society / Corbis
Left: Geranium Valley: imaginingNapoleon’s final resting-place on Saint Helena. © The Art Archive / Napoleonic Museum Rome / Gianni Dagli Orti
Below left: Napoleon talking to a soldier: a romantic representation by HippolyteBellangé. © Brooklyn Museum / Corbis
Opposite top: Apotheosis, after Horace Vernet: a favoured theme of 19th century artists. © The Art Archive / Museo Glauco Lombardi Parma / Gianni Dagli Orti
Opposite middle: Napoleon working in theLongwood Garden: mid-19th century by Olivier Pichat. © Stefano Bianchetti / Corbis
Opposite bottom: Transferring the Ashes tothe Invalides: lithograph by Napoléon Thomas, 1840. © The Art Archive / Marc Charmet
Napoleon and the cinema: Abel Gance in 1927. © SGF / Gaumont / TheKobal Collection
Napoleon and the cinema: Sacha Guitry in 1955. © Les Films C.L.M. / Album / akg-images