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Posted On: October 18th 2026, 04:13 pm
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Imagine commissioning a nearly 12-foot statue of yourself, only for it to end up in your enemy’s house.
Napoleon commissioned Antonio Canova to portray him as Mars the Peacemaker. But when the three-ton statue reached the Musée Napoléon, now the Louvre, he declared that it made him look “too athletic”. It was put into storage and never displayed publicly.
After Waterloo, the British bought the statue and the Prince Regent presented it to the Duke of Wellington in 1816. It was so heavy that the wine cellar beneath it had to be strengthened.
It still stands at the bottom of the staircase inside Wellington’s London home.
📍 Apsley House, Hyde Park Corner
DM this reel to @letsdiscoverapp and we’ll save Apsley House straight to your personal map in the app.
#ThisIsLondon #LondonHistory #ApsleyHouse #Napoleon
Napoleon commissioned Antonio Canova to portray him as Mars the Peacemaker. But when the three-ton statue reached the Musée Napoléon, now the Louvre, he declared that it made him look “too athletic”. It was put into storage and never displayed publicly.
After Waterloo, the British bought the statue and the Prince Regent presented it to the Duke of Wellington in 1816. It was so heavy that the wine cellar beneath it had to be strengthened.
It still stands at the bottom of the staircase inside Wellington’s London home.
📍 Apsley House, Hyde Park Corner
DM this reel to @letsdiscoverapp and we’ll save Apsley House straight to your personal map in the app.
#ThisIsLondon #LondonHistory #ApsleyHouse #Napoleon
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