Articles : 1400
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ArticleTalking Point with Amélie Marineau-Pelletier: Joan of Arc, heroine of the French nationProbably the most famous equestrian statue of Joan of Arc [Jeanne d’Arc] is the one by Emmanuel Fremiet, erected in 1874 on the Place des Pyramides and which has become a veritable Paris landmark. And this is but one example of the omnipresent place that Joan of Arc occupies not only in French public space but […]
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ArticleTalking Point with Juliette Glikman : Were liberties the essence of the Second Empire or its downfall?Immediately after the coup d’état of 2 December 1851, the question of liberalising the regime, still in limbo, was raised. On 31 December 1851, the Prince-President Louis-Napoléon [future Napoleon III] announced his intention to create a “system that would restore authority without harming equality”, in order to found the “only edifice capable of sustaining a […]
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ArticleTalking Point with Peter Hicks > The Musical Triumphs of NapoleonFor the Fondation Napoléon, the bicentennial twenty years (2000-2021) really got going properly in 2004 with a major international conference, the first ever exhibition of the collection, but most of all (and I would say this wouldn’t I?) the concert commemorating Napoleon’s consecration and coronation… -
ArticleTalking Point with Pierre Branda: Napoleon’s Hat! Again…HIS bicorn hat remains the quintessential Napoleonic object. As soon as it’s announced that one is to be sold at auction, collectors start getting into a flap, the press spreads the news. Then comes the killer question: is it authentic? On 27 October 2021, in… -
ArticleStatue of Napoleon in Rouen: “it is a question of respecting our history”For nearly 150 years, the people of Rouen have been accustomed to seeing a statue of Napoleon I on horseback in front of their Town Hall in the square now known as Place Charles-de-Gaulle. But since July 2020, the plinth from which this work towered… -
ArticleTalking Point with Michel Dancoisne-Martineau : Jacques Jourquin’s passion for the last passion of NapoleonThere are some books that, as you reach the last page, you feel that you will never really close them properly. For me, La dernière passion de Napoléon, la bibliothèque de Sainte-Hélène [“Napoleon’s last passion, the library at St Helena”] by Jacques Jourquin, just published… -
ArticleSummer reading list 2021A sprinkling of new books on the Napoleonic era to while away the summer days. We’ve also included links to some historic books now available online for free, including some curiosities. Take a look at our digital library for more freebies. And if you read… -
ArticleTalking Point with Marie de Bruchard > The art of exhumation, or putting the flesh on the bones of historyThe proceedings of the conference “The Death of Napoleon“, organised by the Musée de l’Armée and the Fondation Napoléon, have already been published CNRS Éditions, in anticipation of the actual event to be held at the Fondation Napoléon in Paris from 21 to 23 September… -
ArticleFirst accounts of the “Death of Buonaparte” in the British newspapersThe sloop of war, Heron, bearing two emissaries bringing the news of Napoleon’s death left St Helena on 7/8 May arrived early on 4 July 1821. They also brought with them copies of Frederick Marryat’s celebrated (and soon to be engraved) sketch of Napoleon on his death bed.… -
ArticleTalking Point with Peter Hicks: Napoleon, the bust of his son, the store ship captain, and his celebrated lettersIn May 1817, three store ships bringing supplies to the island of St Helena anchored off Jamestown. First to arrive on circa 22 May was Ocean (under Captain Johnson), then came Experiment (commanded by Captain Dacre) and finally Baring (whose skipper was Captain Lamb). Owing…