Napoleon on the Bellerophon

Napoleon on the Bellerophon is an 1815 painting by the British artist Charles Lock Eastlake. It depicts the deposed Emperor of France Napoleon Bonaparte as a prisoner aboard the Royal Navy ship-of-the-line HMS Bellerophon in Plymouth Sound. Eastlake was a young, largely unknown artist at the time, but later went on to become President of the Royal Academy. It is also known by the longer title Napoleon on Board the Bellerophon in Plymouth Sound.

After his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and his second abdication following the Hundred Days campaign, Napoleon tried to escape to the United States but was captured by the Bellerophon on 10 July 1815. While a decision was made by the Allied powers about his future, he was brought to Plymouth. Napoleon was ultimately taken on to his final place of captivity, the island of Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.

While held off Plymouth, the spectacle attracted large crowds on the shore. Eastlake hired a boat and rowed out towards the ship where he could study Napoleon. His painting portrays the former Emperor standing at the gangway in the uniform of a colonel of chasseurs. He appears as a great figure of history, somewhat heroic, although the draped Union Jack on the left of the picture emphasises his status as a prisoner of the victorious British. A red-coated British marine stands guard to the right.

The painting was a popular success, financially allowing Eastlake to travel in Europe studying Old Masters in continental galleries. It is now in the collection of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.