Close-ups : 10
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Close-upLongwood House and Napoleon’s Journey to St Helena
2010 – 2014 “SAVING NAPOLEON’S HOUSE ON ST HELENA” The “Domaines Français” of St Helena belong to the French Ministry of Foreign Affaires, and are composed of three areas: Longwood House and the “Domaine de la Tombe” (which were bought by France in 1858) and the “Pavillon des Briars” (which was given to France by […]
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Close-upNapoleon’s DeathNapoleon Bonaparte died at 5.49pm on 5 May 1821, at Longwood on the island of Saint Helena. An autopsy was carried out on 6 May; a preliminary cast for a death mask was taken on 7 May; and on 9 May the Emperor was buried, in the presence…
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Close-upA close-up on: the Franco-British expedition to China, 1860The allied expedition to China, launched in 1859 following the Taku Forts incident in June of that year, saw a large British and French force land set sail for China and defeat the imperial Chinese army at the Battle of Baliqiao on 21 September, 1860.…
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Close-upThe Great Universal Exhibitions in Britain and France during the Second EmpireStarting in the 1850s, the industrialised countries abandoned their trade barriers and made their national exhibitions «universal». The idea was to mount an exhibition in a capital city to promote the savoir-faire of the world’s rapidly expanding industries. London started with the Great Exhibition at…
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Close-upA close-up on: the marriage of Napoleon I and Marie-Louise of AustriaNapoleon I married Marie-Louise de Habsburg-Lorraine at civil and religious ceremonies on 1 and 2 April, 1810. The union marked a striking volte-face of alliances both for France and Austria and inaugurated a brief period of Franco-Austrian peace. Despite backbiting (notably by Talleyrand who argued…
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Close-upA close-up on: Joseph Ignaz PleyelIt was in 1807 that Ignaz Pleyel, the famous Austrian composer and Parisian music publisher, founded his famous piano manufactory. We bring you a focus on the composer, his family, his factory and his influence on the world of piano music for more than 150 years.
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Close-upA close-up on: Queen HortenseQueen Hortense, Duchess of Saint Leu, was the daughter of Joséphine de Beauharnais, the wife of King Louis of Holland, and mother of Napoleon III.
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Close-upA close-up on: the Flaubert Madame Bovary trial7 February, 1857, saw the end of the trial involving the writer Gustave Flaubert, the owner, and the printer of La Revue de Paris. The three men had been accused of insulting public morals and offending decent manners by the serialised publication of the novel…
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Close-upA close-up on: Louis Lafitte (1770-1828), painter and draughtsmanLouis Lafitte was a painter and draughtsman specialising in allegories and great festivities, and he is perhaps best known for his famous work General Bonaparte proclaiming the Cisalpine Republic. It was he who produced the trompe-l’oeil bas-reliefs on the ‘temporary’ Arc de triomphe of erected…
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Close-upA close-up on: Robert Lefèvre (1755-1830), portrait painterRobert Lefèvre, portrait painter to the rich and famous, owed his remarkable success to his remarkable talent. And his genius brought him connections in high places (Denon was his champion) not to mention the emperor’s favour. Continuing his remarkable career right until the July Revolution…