Napoleon’s portrait on a dark metal plate, a contemporary interpretation by Riess & Friedrich. Still from the project film.

STUDIO FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC ART

A Photograph
of Napoleon?

St Helena. An emperor in exile.
What remains when power becomes memory?

A contemporary wet plate interpretation
by Riess & Friedrich.

Discover the Work Discover the Film
NAPOLEON / WET PLATE ON METALCONTINUE
View the Work
01 / THE WORKNAPOLEON / LIMITED EDITION

An impossible
encounter.

The framed historical source print in front of the large format camera in the studio. Still from the project film.
THE STARTING POINT / A HISTORICAL PRINT

No photographic portrait of Napoleon exists. Yet on this plate, he feels strangely close.

On St Helena, his campaigns are behind him. In exile, Napoleon recounts his rise, his decisions and his defeats. His world has grown smaller; the life he looks back on has not.

It begins with a remarkably well-preserved historical print, considerably larger than the finished wet plate. Together, we photographed the print, developed the plates and curated the works for the limited edition.

A historical depiction becomes a new photographic object. Our interpretation takes shape through the exposure, the light and the surface of the metal. The gaze reaches out of history into the space before us.

The history behind the work

He dies on the island in 1821. The oldest surviving camera photograph is not made until 1827. We are drawn to the space between these two dates: the idea of sitting opposite someone we know only through images and stories.

The Bibliothèque nationale de France on Napoleon’s conversations on St Helena and the Harry Ransom Center on Niépce’s camera photograph.

Enquire about Napoleon
Napoleon on the metal plate, with visible marks around its edges
NAPOLEON / THE PLATE

THE EDITION

42 pieces.
And a knowing smile.

Our Napoleon edition is limited to 42 pieces. Why 42? A nod to Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: his answer to life, the universe and everything.

One image, a different surface every time. Light, silver and traces of the hand give each plate its own expression.

Close-up of the eyes and surface of the Napoleon wet plate
01 / THE GAZE
Nasskunst marking on the metal plate
02 / THE MARK
02 / THE STORY BEHIND THE WORKAN IMAGE IN FAMILY MEMORY

A gift.
An open question.

Long before this print stood in front of our camera, it was a deeply personal gift.

Florian Friedrich’s grandmother received it when she completed her Abitur, the German school-leaving qualification. Her female classmates had collected the money together. The family recalls that, despite Napoleon’s atrocities, she had defended him by pointing to his legal reforms. The large print, still in very good condition, recalls that outlook – and the woman who held it.

Our wetplate begins with this heirloom. Together, we photographed the print, developed the plates and curated the works for the limited edition. A family image becomes a presence: a man at the end of his power, whose decisions still reach into our lives.

What outlasts an empire?

The Civil Code of 1804 unified French civil law and influenced legislation in many countries. Several jurists produced it, with Bonaparte playing a substantial part. Its influence outlasted the Empire. It also established the subordination of married women. And in 1802, Bonaparte’s government maintained or restored slavery in French colonies.

On St Helena, Napoleon looked back on his rule. In the conversations recorded by Las Cases, he also shaped the image he hoped to leave behind. For us, this is where the work’s tension lies: between achievement and violence, public history and personal memory. In the silver of the plate, the question feels closer.

Historical background and sources

The story of the graduation gift comes from Florian Friedrich’s family. The historical context draws on the sources below. The Civil Code is a code of civil law; the National Assembly had adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789.

Another thread: Mikhail Speransky

A family tree traces Florian Friedrich’s line back to Marfa Speranskaya, who married Andrei Almazov. It does not yet establish the connection to Mikhail Speransky recalled in the family. Speransky served Tsar Alexander I, devised a far-reaching plan of state reform in 1809 and was sent into exile in 1812. He also appears in Tolstoy’s War and Peace, where Prince Andrei’s initial admiration later gives way to disillusionment.

Presidential Library: Speransky’s archive and biography · Tolstoy’s novel in the Maude translation, Book Six, chapters V–VI and XVIII.

03 / IN THE ATELIERTHE WET PLATE PROCESS

A thin layer of silver.
A different way
of seeing.

Here, an image begins long before the shutter opens. With the plate, the light and the expression we choose to bring forward.

Collodion is poured by hand. A silver bath makes the layer sensitive to light. The plate is exposed while still wet, then developed immediately. Since 1851, the wet plate process has followed this closely timed sequence.

The large format camera being prepared for the exposure. Still from the Nasskunst project film.
THE EXPOSUREPreparing the view.
Napoleon plates laid out on the studio table for selection
THE SELECTIONSeeing the differences. Curating an edition.
Napoleon’s face becoming visible in the developing bath. Still from the Nasskunst project film.
03 / THE MOMENT IN THE BATH

THE IMAGE EMERGES

Suddenly, someone
looks back.

A moment ago, there was only darkness. Now contours emerge, eyes, a face. In the bath, the work of every careful gesture becomes visible.

On metal, the image gains a physical presence. Light areas shimmer; depth resides in the dark. Traces of pouring and developing remain along the edges, giving each piece within the edition its own appearance.

About the images and the process

The views of the works and the selection on the studio table are photographs of our plates. The camera, developing bath and opening image are shown in stills from our project film. For the historical process, see the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Nasskunst — Riess & FriedrichNASSKUNST / WET PLATE STUDIOMore about Wolfgang Riess’s wet plate work
04 / THE PROJECT FILM04:38 MIN.

A portrait
emerges.

Watch the moment an imagined encounter becomes an image.

The film takes you into the studio of Riess & Friedrich, follows the making of the Napoleon plate and stays with it as the face appears in the bath.

Watch directly on YouTube
05 / FOR YOUR COLLECTIONA PERSONAL CONVERSATION

Some gazes
stay with us.

A framed Napoleon wet plate held in the hand
NAPOLEON / FRAMED VIEW

Perhaps this one belongs in your collection.

You can discover a wet plate on screen. Its surface, shimmer and presence invite a closer look. Write to us: we can share further views and discuss size, price and the pieces currently available.

Napoleon is a limited edition of 42 pieces. Please contact us to find out which pieces are currently available. Your enquiry carries no obligation.

Enquire about a Piece

Prefer to email us directly?

Nasskunst — Views of the Work