In pictures : 1035
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In picturesChâteau de Compiègne. The empress’s bedchamberThe sculpted decoration is by Thélène and the painted decoration was done by the atelier of Dubois and Redouté. The general iconographic theme is Abundance and Fecundity. The décor, finished in 1809, was complemented in 1814 with paintings by Girodet, namely “The morning star”, “Apollo”, “Summer”, “Autumn”, “Winter”. The bedcovers are a subtle combination of […]
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In picturesChâteau de Compiègne. Queen’s staircaseThis staircase with its two straight ramps used to give access, during the First Empire, to the King of Rome's apartment and to the 'appartement double de Prince'. The cast iron balustrade dates from 1786. On the heating stove in the niche stands a cast of the Belvedere Apollo which was set there in 1808. […]
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In picturesNapoleon ICopy after the statue of “Napoleon Legislator” destined for the Corps Législatif in 1805. Installed following instructions given by Napoleon III in 1857 after he had bought the statue at Carrara in 1854. At the other end of the gallery stands a corresponding statue, a copy of that of “Madame Mère” by Canova, which was […]
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In picturesNapoleon IIIThis herm bust, unfinished because of a flaw found in the marble, is a replica of a portrait begun by Carpeaux in 1872 and finished after the emperor's death on 9 January 1873. The Musée du Second Empire owns the plaster original. The marble carved for the empress Eugénie and delivered in 1874 is today […]
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In picturesBall at the TuileriesCarpeaux is supposed to have painted here the empress Eugénie making her entrance at a ball in the Tuileries palace on the arm of Czar Alexander I who had been invited to the Universal exhibition of 1867.Compiègne Itinerary
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In picturesThe empress Eugénie, study for "The Baptism of the prince imperial"In addition to the present work, Compiègne possesses twelve painted sketches and forty preparatory designs for the (never-completed) commission, “The Baptism of the prince imperial”. Couture worked from a photograph of the empress in the pose which he himself had chosen. Compiègne Itinerary
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In picturesChâteau de Compiègne. The Salon des CartesKnown in 1855 as the Salon des Aides de Camp, this room was given the name 'Salon des Cartes' in 1865. The furniture was progressively renewed from 1863 on. The gaming tables, the chinese billiards, and the draughts board are a reminder that the room's original function was one of after dinner entertainment for those […]
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In picturesChâteau de Compiègne. The salle des ColonnesThis was the large entrance vestibule to the emperor’s apartment. The six termini known as ‘Africans’ or ‘Moors’ and the eight busts of Roman emperors were put there during the First Empire. Compiègne Itinerary
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In picturesChâteau de Compiègne. The Emperor’s bedchamber.The painted decoration was executed by Dubois and Redouté in 1810. The walls of the room are ‘papered’ in crimson damask imprinted with a mosiac pattern of oak-leaves, stars and bees, the whole framed by a brocade border composed of palms and stars. The gilded wood furniture is by Jacob Desmalter. The canopy with its […]
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In picturesChâteau de Compiègne. Galerie de balCommissioned by Napoleon I towards the end of 1809, this gallery is decorated with 20 stucco columns. The painted decoration was executed in 1811 and 1812 by Dubois and Redouté. Twelve compartments in the ceiling contain allegorical paintings of the great battles of the Empire. The tympana at either end are by Girodet. During the […]