File:La Fuite et le Retour (NAPOLEON 127).jpeg

English: In a wooded area, we see at the left the “charge” of the royal cavalry of the Duke de Berry, which is actually in hasty retreat. Napoleon approaches from the right, carrying an olive branch, followed by his generals and the Imperial Guard. Napoleon announces he “only wants peace”, which causes elation in the people who line the road. In the foreground, the armed Jesuits sneak away dismayed, led by the Major de Cugnac who says “I’m going to kill him or bring him back in a cage.” The Jesuits carry a banner identifying themselves as the vanguard of the Inquisition, who have been called too late; otherwise, they could have prevented the return of Napoleon. But the hatred and fanaticism were without effect: with Napoleon’s return, the nobility and clergy were forced back into exile abroad. Thus, the document in Cugnac’s hands that claims to be a passport for travel from London to Paris for a year is outdated. But the fact that Napoleon’s supporters include the faithful war wounded makes him equally the butt of the caricaturist’s critique.

Reference source: Arenenberg catalog, #257.
Published in spring 1815.

• Subjects (LCSH): Political cartoons; History--Caricatures & cartoons; Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821; Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815; Jesuits--France