Pierre-Paul Prudhon; engraving by Chapuy - c. 1805
As in Shakespeare’s play, Talleyrand consistently played Iago to Napoléon’s Othello, deceiving him and selling him out from first to last. A consummate political actor, Talleyrand appears to have taken Napoléon in with his piety from his days as Bishop of Autun and his horror of wrongdoing in others.
Historical Provenance - Castle of Valençay collection
