Napoleon’s funeral carriage crossing the Place de la Concorde, by Jacques Guiaud
AlthoughNapoleon died in 1821, his body was not transported to France until 1840. On December 15 of that year, his remains were conveyed through Paris in a grand funeral procession, culminating in a mass at the Dôme des Invalides. One observer called it “the strangest mixture of sorrow and triumph that human ingenuity could have derived.”
Although the casket didn’t reach the Invalides until 3 p.m., people with tickets to the event started arriving as early as 8 a.m. One of them wrote:
Several hours elapsed ere the procession appeared, and here it is painful to have to remark how little dignity prevailed in the interim. In one place national guards were seen getting planks, and breaking them for the purpose of making fires; in another national guards, soldiers of the line, &c. formed a ring and danced round a flag; elsewhere an officer was in the centre; and in the third place a hat…. At length, however, the funeral car was perceived on the other side of the river, and some order was restored, the troops that had piled their arms hastened to snatch up their muskets and to form their ranks….As the car passed, each head was uncovered; and although the shouts of ‘Vive Napoleon! Vive l’Empereur!’ joined to the cries of ‘Vive le Roi! Vive le Prince de Joinville!’ were few and far between, a certain degree of emotion prevailed, and many an eye was suffused with tears. To be just, however, it must be said that far less enthusiasm prevailed than was expected on the occasion.
Allegory of the Concordat of 1801, by Pierre Joseph Célestin François
Napoleon Bonaparte was religious in that he believed in God. However, he was not devoted to any particular religious doctrines or practices. Napoleon respected the power of religious belief and used religion to further his political goals. For details, see “Was Napoleon religious?”
US President John Quincy Adams was born on July 11, 1767, in Braintree, Massachusetts. As an American diplomat in Europe during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, he had ample opportunity to observe the effects of Napoleon’s military adventures. Adams admired Napoleon’s intelligence and military talent. However, he thought they were overshadowed by flaws in the Emperor’s character. In January 1814 he wrote to his brother from St. Petersburg:
The events of the last two years opened a new prospect to all Europe, and have discovered the glassy substance of the colossal power of France. Had that power been acquired by wisdom, it might have been consolidated by time and the most ordinary portion of prudence. The Emperor Napoleon says that he was never seduced by prosperity; but when he comes to be judged impartially by posterity that will not be their sentence. His fortune will be among the wonders of the age in which he has lived. His military talent and genius will place him high in the rank of great captains; but his intemperate passion, his presumptuous insolence, and his Spanish and Russian wars, will reduce him very nearly to the level of ordinary men. At all events he will be one of the standing examples of human vicissitude, ranged not among the Alexanders, Caesars, and Charlemagnes, but among the Hannibals, Pompeys, and Charles the 12th.
Marie Louise of Austria, Empress of the French and Queen of Italy, by Pierre-Paul Prud’hon, 1810
At the age of 18, Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria was obliged to marry 40-year-old French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who had spent years waging war against her country. Despite the circumstances, the marriage was relatively happy. Napoleon and Marie Louise spent four years together and then never saw each other again. While he was destined for an early death in faraway exile on St. Helena, she went on to govern the Duchy of Parma. For details, see “Marie Louise of Austria, Napoleon’s Second Wife.”
Napoleon died 200 years ago, on May 5, 1821, on the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena. To find out how his remains wound up in Paris, and why there are reports of an intimate part of him being in the United States, see “What happened to Napoleon’s body?”
200 years ago today, Napoleon was on his deathbed. Given the number of people surrounding him during his final days, there should be a clear record of his last words. But, as with most things involving Napoleon, there are several accounts of his dying hours and differences regarding what he actually said. For details, see: “What were Napoleon’s last words?”
Napoleon on St. Helena, by Charles de Steuben, 1828
Napoleon Bonaparte died on May 5, 1821, on St. Helena, an isolated island in the South Atlantic where the British imprisoned him after his 1815 defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. He probably died of stomach cancer. Napoleon noticed that his health was declining in the fall of 1820. By the end of that year, his illness had become apparent to those around him. For a glimpse into Napoleon’s last days, as recorded by those closest to him, see “Vignettes of Napoleon’s Final Months.”
In April 1814, with a European coalition occupying Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte was forced to abdicate the French throne. He was sent into exile on Elba, a small Mediterranean island located 260 km (160 miles) south of France and 10 km (6 miles) west of the Italian coastline. Ten months later, in one of those life-is-stranger-than-fiction episodes, Napoleon managed to spirit himself off the island and regain the French crown. To find out how and why Napoleon escaped from Elba, see: https://shannonselin.com/2016/02/how-did-napoleon-escape-from-elba/.
I am watching a documentary on Napoléon because I woke up and chose violence, and I’m just gonna jot down half-baked, chaotic theories and parallels as I watch.
Napoléon came back over to France from Corsica after he and his family (widowed mother who he adored and seven surviving siblings) had been exiled by Paoli in 1793; in 1794/95, Valjean’s oldest sister was widowed, leaving her to look after him and her seven surviving children all by herself
(I subscribe to Valjean’s birthday being Exactly 15 August 1769 for Reasons.)
I am an instrument of providence. She will use me, then she will break me like a glass.
Providence, you say??????????
Trust my wife @thepiecesofcait to improve everything she’s ever touched. <3
Hey there @sweettangy I hope that you’re well, sweetpea! Thank you so much for this request, it was so so specific which is cool but, I had to stray slightly off path for it all to make sense, I hope that’s okay ^^’
Thank you all so much for reading and sticking by me whilst my uploads have kinda been few and far between, it means the world to me & I hope that I can continue to make content that y’all enjoy!
- JJ x
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Napoleon Bonaparte:
As MC prepared herself for an onslaught of yelling, insults and false accusations from her awful boss, her protective boyfriend Napoleon was just finishing his work teaching for the day. He and MC had agreed to meet after work so that they might go out for dinner together so, he had finished up with the children early that evening so that he could go and pick his darling up from work.
When Napoleon arrived at the art shop, he witnessed a confrontation between MC and her boss from outside the window. His body moved before he could think, rushing into the shop to shield his lover with his own body so that he stood in between her and her boss.
“Pray tell, sir, what business do you have with my employee?” The shop owner smiled condescendingly, nastily at Napoleon but, the ex-emperor stood his ground, protecting MC.
“I am her protector and I’d like to know what business you have showing her such disrespect. It is incredibly ungentlemanly to mistreat a lady.” The vampire, turned his gaze towards MC before speaking to her quietly, “Get you belongings and wait outside for me.”
As MC scrambled to grab her bag and coat, Napoleon took another step towards the shop owner, his right hand resting on the hilt of his rapier, “Now, sir, I don’t wish to cause you or your business any harm, but, mistreating a lady is the most unacceptable of crimes. I’d suggest that you pay compensation to this poor woman and increase her salary … should you want to keep your reputation untarnished in the public eye, that is.”
“Y-you have no right -”
“Oh, I think you’ll find that I have every right to protect the mademoiselle and see that her honour is kept in tact,” Napoleon turned to leave, glaring at the shop keeper one last time, “If I hear that she has come to any harm by your hand, you should expect a visit from the police.”
As soon as Napoleon left the shop, MC rushed into his arms, tucking herself tightly against his warm chest. The lady gently kissed her lover’s shoulder and lifted her gazed to meet his, “You saved me…”
“I promised that I always would, didn’t I?” Napoleon stroked MC’s hair comfortingly, a warm smile spread across her lips as his hand fell to grasp her own, “Would you still like to get dinner? Or do you want to go home and relax?”
“Dinner sounds nice…”
“As you wish, my lady,” he replied sweetly, taking her arm in his own as they walked to their restaurant of choice to enjoy dinner, with Napoleon fiercely protecting MC for the rest of the night.
Unexpected visit to Gdańsk and what a surprise: in the City History Museum in the Town Hall there is a most interesting exposition about the Free City 1807-1813/14 (the title is “Life of the city in the shadow of great war and politics, or: The Free City of Danzig 1807-1813/14”; the banners are in Polish only but the exposition has all explanations and labels also in English). Many objects presented are from private collections and museum storerooms in Poland, so it’s a rare opportunity to see them. I’ll be writing about the exposition in more detail in a short time, as well as about other Napoleonic sites in Gdansk and environs. The exposition will be on until January 2014 (I could not get the exact date from the museum, though). By the way, I must admit that the old town in Gdansk is one of the most beautiful ones in Europe. I haven’t been here for ages, and I was really taken by its charm.
Personally I dislike Josephine, so I’m not donating to this particular purpose (unlike the restoration of Longwood), but if anyone feels like, here is the appeal for funds:
And just for reference here is the piece of furniture in question in the Malmaison museum, status of Sept. 21, 2013:
While this is what the rooms and furniture in the Petits Appartements in Fontainebleau look like (status of Sept. 22, 2013), and no appeal for help in their conservation is being made:
I’m definitely going to Leipzig in a month’s time for this sad anniversary, and soon I’ll be posting a note about Napoleonic (and mainly Bluecheric) places and memorabilia in Wrocław (Breslau) in Lower Silesia, where I am at a conference, and on my way west to Paris via Jena.
The largest and probably best known museum of arts in Corsica takes its name after Napoleon’s maternal uncle, the cardinal Joseph Fesch (1763-1839), whose history with his nephew was turbulent to say the least, but who quite loyally supported the family in general. The museum is located in the palace that used to belong to the cardinal, and its main collection consists of pieces of art, mostly paintings, from the cardinal’s private collection, which is believed to have been the largest private collection of paintings ever, since it used to comprise ca. 16 thousand paintings and some two thousand other objects of art. The cardinal wished in his last will for an institute of arts and sciences to be established in Ajaccio, but due to the contestation of the testament only part of this wish was realized in Corsica. The collection of the museum was later enriched by a number of private donations.
The paintings on display are in the first place Italian paintings from the late medieval to the 18th century, none of them real masterpieces, strong second league, if anything, despite some big names (e.g. Botticelli, Tizian, Veronese’s atelier, Poussin). Religious topics dominate, but for me far more interesting was the collection of natures mortes by the 17th century painter Francesco Noletti, known as Il Maltese, featuring unusual fruits and painstakingly rendered oriental fabrics.
The extended Fesch collection occupies the first and second floors of the museum, and visitors are advised, or even persuaded to begin the visit from the top floor, but the staff does accept the explanation that one would only go to one part of the museum - like I did upon my second visit. (I mention this because there are museums that make one pass through all the rooms despite any kind of protestations.) Anyway, if you do have time, the main collection is worth at least cursory visit, just as the first floor, which gathers mostly later additions to the collection, including several really nice, if again far from exceptional, late 19th century pieces. For those interested in curios related to famous people, and famous military people in particular, or in the reception of ancient history, I recommend looking for the mid-18th century Venetian painting with Alexander at the tomb of Achilles by an artist from the circle of Giovanni Paolo Pannini (first floor, main hall, up on the wall).
In the basement of the museum there is a nice but hardly breathtaking collection of Corsican paintings, mostly from late 19th century on, including some modern pieces. They show very clearly that second class art was more or less the same everywhere in Europe.
The reader of this blog will, however, probably be most interested in the three rooms on the ground floor that host the Collection Napoléonienne. The first room offers a really rich array of sculpted portraits (Fesch by Antonio Canova, most by less known sculptors) of assorted members of the family; the larger than life full statue of Jérôme in the ceremonial robes of the king of Westphalia dominates the scene, while other people are represented by Roman style busts. The “Roman style”, by the way, does not apply just to the type of sculpted portrait developed in ancient Rome (the bust) but also to details of dress and especially ornaments worn by several of the portrayed. Actually some of the elements have ancient Greek provenance (for instance the characteristic headdresses of the women imitate the Greek stephane worn by goddesses and Hellenistic queens), but were adopted in the official Roman portraiture, and later imitated in the Neo-Classical style of the 1st Empire.
The second room boasts one of the famous portraits of Napoleon in the coronation (the Sacre) robes, painted by François Pascal Simon, baron Gérard (usually referred to simply as Gérard). In accordance with the style and fashion every detail is very thoroughly rendered, and the portrait is supposed to emanate majesty and power. Even if he was one of the most gifted painters of his age, Gérard did not have the talent of Jacques-Louis David, but still I personally believe that this is the best of non-David official portraits related to the coronation. I will devote a separate note to the details of this painting one day.
There is also a number of other portraits in this room and the next one (e.g. Carlo, Joseph, Lucien, the little Roi de Rome, Félix Baciocchi, Alexandrine de Bleschamp, Cardinal Fesch, Napoleon III, and some others), out of which my favourites are two Gérards that I would count among his best works: Caroline and the iconic Madame Mère, as well as the little Marie-Laetitia Murat carrying the bust of her uncle (author: Jeanne-Elisabeth Chaudet-Husson). As for the latter, I really love the way the paintress captured the smug expression on face of the little girl and I was mesmerized by the display of period children’s toys on the left (I remember my parents teaching me to make that origami-like paper horse when I was a child!).
Two relatively small paintings portraying Lucien Bonaparte and his first wife Christine Boyer, is certainly worth the visitor’s attention: at closer inspection it becomes clear that they show the same scene from two different perspectives (actually the second is included in the first, or the other way round: the second is part of the first, only zoomed-out):
Several paintings more loosely related to the historical events, and the rest of the two rooms is dedicated to a variety of memorabilia, among which is the indispensable death mask (I counted 8 of these in Corsica alone, will be possibly returning to their typology on the occasion of Maison Bonaparte) and possibly the single most morbid curio I have seen, at least so far: a miniature coffin, together with its miniature content. Otherwise the display cases contain mostly the typical stuff: figurines (including the always moving apotheosis of the Duke of Reichstadt and a nice Napoleon on a camel), miniature portraits and cameos.
The arrangement of the items may seem a bit exotic at times: for instance the display cases in the second room contain the church paraphernalia that used to belong to cardinal Fesch accompanied by a box with a pornographic image of Marie-Louise and general Neipperg. Chronological arrangement does not work, either, since the third room hosts both posthumous memorabilia on Napoleon and the Roi de Rome, and very much lifetime objects of everyday use (e.g. a field nécéssaire that used to belong to Jérôme as the king of Westphalia). All in all it is in the period fashion, since it recalls the atmosphere of the cabinets of curiosities.
The museum usually hosts temporary exhibitions, and has a good shop with numerous exhibition catalogues, books, clothes and good taste souvenirs. The large courtyard with the statue of the cardinal makes a good spot for a short rest.
To the right from the museum entrance is the Chapelle Impériale, which was built in the time of the 2nd Empire, and where a number of the Bonaparte family members are now buried, but it was closed for renovation in 2013 and no information was given as to when it is due to be open for visitors again.
Practical information
Address:
Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Ajaccio, Palais Fesch
50-52 rue cardinal Fesch, Ajaccio
GPS data: N 41.91311 E 008.72454
Opening hours:
May 2 - Sept 30
Mon, Wed, Sat 10:30 a.m - 6:00 p.m.
Thu, Sun 12:00 a.m - 6:00 p.m.
Fri 12:00 a.m - 6:00 p.m. (July and Aug 12:00 a.m - 8:30 p.m.)
Oct. 1 - Apr. 30
Mon, Wed, Sat 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Thu, Fri 12:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Third Sun of every month 12:00 p.m - 5:00 p.m.
Closed on Tuesdays, and on Christmas; New Year; Nov 1 and 11; Mar 18; Easter; May 1.
Admission: full EUR 8; reduced EUR 5.
Tickets are valid all day, so one can go in and out at will.
Photography is allowed.
Personal belongings may be left in the cloakroom for free.
