French bulldog Napoleon portrait: the history behind the trend

Part 1

When the French bulldog breed actually began

From the start of the nineteenth century, bulldogs in England were bred for purposes other than bull-baiting, a blood sport banned in 1835. By the middle of the century, miniature bulldogs had appeared in England, most weighing around seven to eleven kilograms. Around the same time, lace workers from Nottingham who had been displaced by the Industrial Revolution settled in Normandy, France, and brought these small bulldogs with them. The dogs became popular in France, and by 1860 very few toy bulldogs were left in England because so many had been sent across the Channel. Over time the small bulldog type was thought of as its own breed and given a name, the Bouledogue Français.

You can compare that timeline with Napoleon's life directly. He married Joséphine in 1796 and was still writing to her from Egypt in 1798. The French bulldog did not take its recognizable form until decades after those events, in Paris. So if you picture Napoleon in his early military uniform, the breed we know today simply was not around yet to sit beside him.

Part 2

The dog Napoleon actually knew

Napoleon's household did include a real dog, and it is worth knowing the actual story if you are curious about his history. The dog was Fortuné, a pug that belonged to his wife, Joséphine. Fortuné slept in Joséphine's bed and was not about to give up his spot for Napoleon. On the night of their wedding in 1796, Fortuné bit Napoleon, leaving a scar on his leg. Napoleon later described the pug to a friend as his rival and said he had no choice but to share his bed with him.

Napoleon's feelings about dogs in general were mixed. He reportedly resented that a Newfoundland dog was the first to board a captured French ship at the Battle of Trafalgar. Yet another Newfoundland is said to have jumped into the sea and kept him afloat after he was thrown overboard during his escape from Elba. He is also said to have made it illegal for anyone to name a dog Napoleon. So the dog with a documented place in Napoleon's story is Fortuné the pug.

Part 3

Why French bulldogs and Napoleon get paired in art today

French bulldogs became fashionable in Paris in the mid-1800s. They were sought after by society ladies, artists, and writers. The painters Edgar Degas and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec are thought to have included French bulldogs in their paintings.

Part 4

How to read a historical dog portrait critically

When you see a history-themed portrait of your own dog, it helps to separate the artistic tribute from the factual record. A documented account names the actual dog, its owner, and a date, the way Joséphine's pug Fortuné is tied to a specific wedding night in 1796. A costume portrait, by contrast, borrows a historical look without claiming that a particular dog and figure were ever together. If you want to see dogs that genuinely belong to an era, nineteenth-century Parisian paintings of the small bulldogs that became the French bulldog are a better place to look than anything set in Napoleon's time. Either way, you can enjoy a costume portrait of your own dog while keeping the real history straight.