Napoleonic Artwork

The Eagle's Lair
Original composition
18 x 14
Sold

"I also discovered that François is a 'Bonap-Artist' and that that passion fuels his inspiration. With a modesty that only real artists share François showed me his marvelous paintings portraying the life and times of the famous Emperor. Rendered in rich and warm colors his artwork highlights that glorious and moving Era."

- Marcelle Bastien

With Marcelle Bastien, at the Fall Salon of the C.a.p.s.q.

In addition to the person you met in the other sections of this web site, there is the historical painter, the one Marcelle Bastien calls the "Bonap-Artist". A Napoleonic enthusiast for more than 30 years, the discovery more than 6 years ago of oil painting triggered in me a new way of making my passion come to life.

Trying to capture the symbols of the Napoleonic Era is an ever-ending quest. The Man, the grognards, the settings in which Napoleon exercised his power over Europe, moments of glory, moments of defeat. How can an artist ever come to rest trying to depict this period when Europe was being shaken by the struggle of a whole nation led by a Titan trying to establish a new order?

I know I can't.

Painting Napoleonic scenes helps me present my vision of an Era where values, society, issues and every-day life were light-years removed from our "techy" universe. It's a matter taking a new look at man, his strengths, ambitions, greatness and illusions.

I had the opportunity of visiting several battlefields and to get acquainted with the classic sites such as Les Invalides, Waterloo, Fontainebleau and Malmaison, spending endless hours in my search for these past events that mesmerize me. I completed my training as a Napoleonic painter by studying scrupulously the artwork of the masters of the First Empire in my collection of over 200 books on the Age of Napoleon.

François Guilbault during one of his visits at Waterloo. We can see in the background the farm of la Belle Alliance, Napoleon's headquarters.

Rubbing shoulders with Mr. Bob Snibbe, founder of the Napoleonic Society of America.

A moment to remember: my first Napoleonic painting being sold during my exhibition at the NSA's convention in Montreal in 1999. Joe and Emily Glover of Florida were highly pleased with their new acquisition.

Any painter will tell you that one of the most intimidating moments in an artist's career is the first exhibition. The first time I presented my Napoleonic paintings in public was at the Napoleonic Society of America's annual convention held in Montreal in September 1999 to commemorate the 230th anniversary of the birth of Napoleon Bonaparte. The attendees' enthusiasm was immediate. Several of my paintings now adorn private collections as a result of this momentous event.

Thousands of books have been published on Napoleon Bonaparte. Hundreds of paintings were created by masters such as David, Isabey, Gros, to name but a few. The history of the First Empire and the Revolution has been part of my everyday life for the last 30 years. Today my being an artist allows me to go further in my research and understanding of the Napoleonic Era. A passion, an obsession to understand that troubled age, the giants that made it come true, the glory, the decline of dreams and ambitions, the conflicts of classes, kings and men.