| |
| |
JUST A FEW WEEKS...
... have gone by since the festive season rolled to a close, but already the Fondation Napoléon here in Paris has lots of exciting news for you. It's full steam ahead for Operation St Helena, which has been active internationally for the last ten days now, whilst we also have details of our new partnership with First Empire magazine. Next up is some information about a new publication that might just have the answer to that burning Napoleonic question you've been itching to ask for so long now. Scroll down a bit further, and you'll also find a link to an online presentation on David's famous painting of Napoleon's coronation. Finally, as is our wont, we have our little snapshots from history, in the form of 200 and 150 years ago. This week, we have a double helping of architecturally-themed anecdotes from 1811, whilst 150 years ago sees the beginnings of the American Civil War start to hit the European papers.
|
|
|
| |
ARTICLE OF THE MONTH
"A British agent at Tilsit", by John Holland-Rose
In this article, John Holland-Rose, the English historian and author of the influential Napoleon, a life - which today still stands as one of the greatest biographies of Napoleon Bonaparte - offers an analysis of a particularly intriguing episode leading up to the Battle of Copenhagen and considers the much-debated question: just how did the British Foreign Secretary Canning come to learn of Napoleon and Alexander I's designs, formulated following the hastily-arranged meeting on a raft in the middle of the Neman River?
The article on the French side of the site is Pierre Lévêque's Les ports militaires français du Premier et Second Empire
|
|
|
| |
OPERATION ST HELENA
Swan Ways joins the St Helena campaign
Swan Ways, the Fondation Napoléon's latest partner in the St Helena project, takes as inspiration the legend of Napoleon and blends its many motifs with the sophisticated fashion of the First Empire. The design for "The Eagle", the first in the company's private-label silk scarf collection, combines the imperial bird of prey, the Frankish golden bees of King Childeric I, and other key elements from the history of Napoleon, including the Légion d'honneur, the imperial crown and the iconic, upper-case N, monogram.
|
|
|
| |
FONDATION NAPOLEON NEWS
First Empire partnership
The Fondation Napoléon's latest partnership is with First Empire magazine, a bimonthly international publication for the Napoleonic enthusiast, historian, and wargamer that has been going for over twenty years. Each issue covers aspects of tactics, uniforms, personalities and battles of the period, catering to all tastes. Napoleon.org has already featured articles previously published in the magazine and this newly-agreed partnership will see a further exchange of material between the two organisations. And for readers of the Fondation Napoléon weekly bulletin and users of the site, the publishers of First Empire are offering a thirty percent discount on subscriptions to the magazine. This discount can be obtained simply by quoting the code "FONDATION" at the checkout when signing up for your subscription on the First Empire website (external link).
|
|
|
| |
JUST PUBLISHED
250 réponses à vos questions sur Napoléon Ier, by Chantal Prévot
Was Napoleon really that small? How many letters did he write? Does Napoleon's residence on the island of St Helena belong to France? Where does the term "Grande Armée" come from? Where are Napoléonville and Napoléon-Vendée located? Napoleon Bonaparte, who governed France for fifteen years, has left quite a mark on French and European history. Chantal Prévot is the librarian at the Fondation Napoléon. The years spent working in such an environment have seen her consulted on a huge variety of enquiries, requests and questions, the fruits of which are published in this lively, informed and often unexpected volume.
|
|
|
| |
SEEN ON THE WEB
"Napoleon's Propaganda" on "Museum Secrets"
Featured on the website for "Museum Secrets", broadcast by the Canadian TV channel History Television, is an interactive dissection of Jacques-Louis David's famous depiction of Napoleon Bonaparte's coronation. Entitled "Napoleon's Lies", the presentation takes a look at the differences between the draft sketch for the painting and the finished article and explains why these changes, which were more often than not made at Napoleon's instigation, came about. The website also includes a web-only video discussing the painting, which can be found hanging in the Louvre, in Paris.
200 YEARS AGO
Architects, part one: Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin
On 21 January, 1811, Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin, the celebrated architect behind the designs for the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile, passed away in Paris. Born in 1739 and active during the reign of Louis XVI (he was the architect behind the Eglise de Saint-Philippe-du-Roule, in Paris' 8th arrondissement, completed in 1784), he went on to become member of the Institut and during the Empire period was posted to the Conseil des bâtiments civils. Involved in the construction project for the Arc de Triomphe from its beginnings in 1806, in 1808 Chalgrin was made sole director of the project. Although the first stone was laid as early as 6 August, 1806, Chalgrin's designs were only finally approved on 27 March, 1809 (with a number of changes added by the architect himself in 1810). Chalgrin would not live to see the completion of his project, and after his death, Louis-Robert Goust, one of his students, took over. By 1814, when the project was suspended following Napoleon's abdication, the arch had risen to about twenty metres in height and had cost 4,275,000 Francs (out of a total budget of about 9 million Francs). A succession of chief architects followed (including Goust and Jean-Nicolas Huyot), and the Arc de Triomphe was finally completed during the reign of Louis-Philippe I and inaugurated on 29 July, 1836.
Architects, part two: Fontaine experiences some imperial displeasure
On 21 January, 1811, Napoleon met with his architect Fontaine, ostensibly with a view to discussing the different construction projects in Paris currently on the table. His bad mood manifested itself in his criticism of the Corps Législatif's portico - which he found to be "abhorrent" - and he railed against France's breed of architect, describing them as "know-nothings" whose construction reports were no more than indecipherable 'mumbo jumbo' that even they themselves did not understand. Napoleon then dropped another bombshell: he had just named an engineer, answering directly to the Interior Minister, who would henceforth oversee the corps of architects and their work. Indeed, it was on 11 January, 1811, that the French emperor issued a decree placing Paris' public works department and the service des ponts et chaussées for the Seine département (Paris and its surrounding suburbs) under the guidance of two maîtres des requêtes. These high level administrative officers would also sit on the Seine département's prefectural council and report back to the Interior Minister on all matters concerning construction projects currently in progress in Paris. On 13 January, 1811, Louis-Joseph-Alexandre de Laborde (father of the future senator and director of the Archives Impériales during the Second Empire) was named maître des requêtes for the service des ponts et chaussées, whilst Louis Bruyères, who would go on to excel in the post, was named to the corresponding position for the public works of Paris.
Fontaine, clearly upset by Napoleon's behaviour, later described the emperor's heavy-handed attack and, more importantly, his decision concerning construction works in Paris, to be nothing less than the "most insulting thing that could have happened to this corps" [Fontaine, Mémoires, Journal (1799-1853) volume I].
150 YEARS AGO
Secession hits the papers
On 20 December, 1860, increasing tensions (driven to a certain extent by differing attitudes to slavery) between the southern and northern member states of the United States of America saw South Carolina became the first state to abandon the Union, to be joined shortly afterwards by Mississippi (9 January, 1861), Florida (10 January), Alabama (11 January), Georgia (21 January) and Louisiana (26 January). Although war was not yet inevitable, by late January, news had begun to trickle over into Europe. The Moniteur Universel from 25 January, 1861, chose to highlight the effect it could have on the British cotton trade:
"Last year, British traders purchased 5,554,000 bales of cotton, and of this figure, America's involvement counted for 84%. [...] In order to prepare for future demand [for cotton] the creation of a company with a capital of 100 million francs was proposed during the course of a grand meeting held in Manchester, the aim of which would be to develop the production [of cotton] in Australia and India and introduce the cultivation of cotton anywhere that success might be possible."
Elsewhere, the 22 January, 1861 issue of The Belfast News-Letter (whose self-declared principles included "loyalty to the [British] throne") preferred instead to emphasise the gains that could be made should the Union collapse:
"If, as some persons seem to think, the secession of the Southern States may lead to the establishment of a number of smaller confederacies in the North, the United British colonies would then be much more powerful than any of these separate governments, and would obtain an influence on the North American continent proportionate to their extent, wealth and commanding frontier. The British Government has no wish to aggrandise itself in the new world; but if circumstances should arise to make us relatively the greatest power on the continent, we hope it will not be considered a great political crime if we endeavour to [do so]."
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks & Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 568, 21 - 27 January, 2011
Interested in the work of the Fondation Napoléon? Why not participate, either generally or in a specific project, by making a donation?
© This Napoleon.org weekly bulletin is published by the Fondation Napoléon. Reproduction or all or part of this bulletin is forbidden, without prior agreement of the Fondation Napoléon.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FONDATION NAPOLEON ON THE WEB
Each week we offer you a "mystery" link to somewhere on napoleon.org. Click on the link to discover a part of the website you might not have visited before...
STATISTIC OF THE WEEK
200: the number of decorations and medals exhibited currently at the Musée de la Légion d'honneur in Paris as part of their exhibition, Ecrins impériaux, splendeurs diplomatiques du Second Empire.
MAGAZINE
Just published
- 250 réponses à vos questions sur Napoléon Ier, by Chantal Prévot
Press review
- The Guardian: "Napoleon und Europa: Traum und Trauma" review
Seen on the web
- "Napoleon's Propaganda" on "Museum Secrets"
NAPOLEON.ORG
The best of the month:
- Book of the month
- Painting of the month
- Objet d'Art of the month
- Article of the month
NAPOLEONICA.LA REVUE
Available free on Cairn.info
NAPOLEONICA ARCHIVES ONLINE
THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
Winter opening hours
Situated at 148 boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris, the library is open on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, from 1pm – 6pm, and Thursday 10am - 3pm.
Online catalogue
Digital Library
Contact
ACCOUNT DETAILS
To change your email address, unsubscribe, and sign up for the French information bulletin.
|
|
