IN PICTURES

Place:Rueil-Malmaison, musée national des châteaux de Malmaison et
de Bois-Préau

Subjects: Decorative arts, Malmaison (château of)

Key words: furniture, furnishings, console, guéridon, conversation chairs, armchairs, chairs, piano, carpet, Fontaine, Berthault, Gérard, Girodet

Credits: RMN

Notes:

Hurriedly decorated in 1800, the room was redecorated by Berthault on a commission from the Empress Josephine after her divorce. Severely damaged during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, all that remains today of this second state are the ceiling, the cornice, the doors and four medallions by Délécluze showing the myth of Daphnis and Chloe. The present furniture comes from Saint-Cloud.
The fireplace, a gift from pope Pius VII to Bonaparte in 1802, lost its inset marbles and mosaics during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. To the left, there is a portrait of the queen Hortense by Girodet and Ossian evoking the spirits with the sound of his harp on the banks of the Lora by Gérard; to the right, there hangs The apotheosis of French heros who died for their country during the war for freedom by Girodet.