Compiègne, Présentation du Prince Impérial

Olympe Aguado de las Marismas

1856 · Albumen silver print from glass negative · Photographs

On March 16, 1856, Empress Eugénie gave birth to a male heir, Napoléon Eugène, known as the prince imperial, thus ensuring the continuation of the imperial bloodline. At a series of events that autumn at the palace of Compiègne, the prince imperial was presented to members of the court. Olympe Aguado, a talented amateur photographer and founding member of the French Photographic Society, was among the aristocratic guests invited from October 27 to November 2 and was enlisted as the unofficial recorder of the event. The hope for a dynasty would, however, not be fulfilled. Napoleon III died in exile in 1873, and the prince imperial-despite being proclaimed Napoleon IV by Bonapartists-never ruled. The only child of Napoleon and Eugénie died at the age of twenty-three, fighting for the British in the Zulu Wars.

Artist

Olympe Aguado de las Marismas

Date

1856

Medium

Albumen silver print from glass negative

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005