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IN THE LETTER THIS WEEK...
... you'll find our latest objet d'art of the month: a beautiful pair of candelabra, which once belonged to the Murat family. Now part of the Mobilier National collections, it is currently on display in the "L'heure, le feu, la lumière (1800-1870)" exhibition which is on at the Galerie des Gobelins, in Paris. We also have details of a change in direction at the Musée de l'Armée: General Robert Bresse is stepping down after seven years in the position, and handing over the reins to Divisional General Christian Baptiste. Further down, as well our continuing focus on Operation St Helena, we also have news of two new Napoleonic exhibitions - one in Haarlem and one in Paris - before rounding off the letter with our look back on events that marked the week 200 and 150 years ago. This week the French emperor expresses his displeasure with the Cercle des Etrangers, a high-class casino on Paris' rue Richelieu, whilst 150 years ago sees the long-awaited return of our old friend, Horace de Viel Castel.
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OBJET D'ART OF THE MONTH
Pair of candelabra
After the destruction and devastation of the Revolution, there was a huge demand for refurbishments and decorations which, during the Consulate and First Empire, led to an explosion in the production of furnishings and objets d'art. Bronze was particularly popular; no longer restricted to furniture, it began to feature more and more in decorative arts, from light fixtures and dinner services to, in particular, the rapidly expanding clock production industry. The unmatched quality in the bronze work of this period is due in no small part to the expertise of an essentially Parisian industry. These candelabra, made from patinated bronze and marble and currently on display as part of the "L'heure, le feu, la lumière (1800-1870)" exhibition in Paris, lived for nearly sixty years in the Elysée Palace.
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NEWS
A new director for the Musée de l'Armée
In January 2011, General Robert Bresse stepped down from his position as director of the Musée de l'Armée - a position he had held for seven years -and handed over the watch duties to Divisional General Christian Baptiste. Divisional General Baptiste previously served as second in command at DICoD ("Délégation à l'information et à la communication de la Défense", communication wing of the French Ministry of Defence) and was the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence. Amongst the many projects that he oversaw during his time at the museum, General Bresse spearheaded the ATHENA project to modernise the museum and, more notably, the recently refurbished Napoleonic wing. His "reign" saw the museum break the million barrier, receiving in 2010 1.2 million visitors through its doors, whilst at the same time embracing an increasingly diverse public. For the last seven years, he has been a tremendous partner and friend to the Fondation Napoléon. As well as extending our thanks to the general, we should like to wish his successor every success in his new position and look forward to continuing the partnership that exists between our institution and this grand museum of French military history and - of course - the Emperor's Tomb, of which the museum's director, it should not be forgotten, is the statutory guardian.
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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. With Valentine's Day fast approaching, "The Eagle", which combines the imperial bird of prey, the Frankish golden bees of King Childeric I, and other key elements from the history of Napoleon, could be the perfect gift for your loved one.
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WHAT'S ON
"Egypt & Napoleon: War and Science", Haarlem, Netherlands
Egypt has appealed to the imagination for many centuries. However, very little was known about this mystical country for a long time. This changed completely when Description de l'Égypte appeared; the most prestigious book about Egypt ever published. Teylers Museum, which owns a rare first impression of this exceptional book, offers an exhibition of fascinating drawings, enormous books, adventurous travel journals, dazzling jewellery, bizarre mummies, a stuffed crocodile and a lively Arabic coffee bar where visitors can read the digital version of the Description de l'Égypte.
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"Ecrins impériaux", Paris, France
This exhibition of jewels and decorations (which belonged to Napoleon III and his son, Louis-Napoleon, the Prince Imperial) takes the visitor on a journey into the 19th century: each of the 150 objects present recounts a story, details a relationship, describes a victory or is testament to a political or economic agreement. The Fondation Napoléon has loaned four objects to the exhibition, including the Grand-croix decorations from the Légion d'honneur which were worn by the Prince Imperial and Napoleon III.
200 YEARS AGO
The Salon des étrangers
"I have learnt that those involved in the Cercle des étrangers, on rue Richelieu, have built an immense salon for holding masquerade balls. I have already informed you that I want nothing of it. They already intend to install tables for Trente-et-un and roulette. You will put a stop to all this: there will be no masquerades in that house." [Letter from Napoleon to General Savary, 2 February, 1811, n° 17316, Correspondance générale de Napoléon I, Second Empire edition.]
The Cercle (or Salon) des étrangers was a casino, which originally served as both a means of taking the money of foreigners visiting Paris and of observing them and their movements whilst in the French capital, frequented by senior members of the French diplomatic corps and the most prestigious of foreign visitors. Highly select and extremely selective, the dress code (naturally) excluded all those in boots or overcoat and visitors could only enter with a personal invitation from the commissioner. As well as casino games, the Salon des étrangers was also host to sumptuous masquerade balls until, following a session during the Consulate that saw one of Josephine's ladies in waiting lose a considerable amount of money, First Consul Bonaparte put a stop to them. The losses could indeed be excessive: in her memoirs, Madame la baronne de Vaudey (published as part of the Mémoires de Constant) records having been party to a game in which 300,000 francs were lost in a single turn. Napoleon later issued an imperial decree in 1806 which restricted casinos and gambling salons to Paris (the majority of which were located in the Palais Royal quarter) and designated "villes thermales" (French spa towns). But despite concerns regarding masquerade balls and their damaging effects on order and society, Las Cases notes in his Mémorial that Napoleon nevertheless enjoyed, on a personal level, these events, writing that he appreciated the freedom that such anonymous gatherings offered him and the other guests.
150 YEARS AGO
The return of Horace de Viel Castel
The end of January 1861 saw Horace de Viel Castel, the normally ever-present social commentator and man-about-town, rouse himself from his winter hibernation and fire off an entry, his first in over two months, in his journal. But with the new year came old concerns:
"At this very moment, peasants who remain loyal to the king [of Naples, Francis II, who was holed up in Gaeta - see bulletin n° 559] are being shot as soon as they are captured and the city of Gaeta, the last refuge for Francis II, his young wife and his brothers, is being bombarded by a certain Cialdini [Enrico Cialdini, who led the Piedmontese troops to victory at the Battle of Castelfidardo, on 18 September, 1860] and Admiral [Carlo Pellion di] Persano, both of whom continue to disregard the black flags that fly over the hospitals [during a siege, black flags were flown above hospitals to indicate they were to be safeguarded as part of humanity's duty to protect the injured] and the queen's quarters. [...] Europe says nothing: its sovereigns allow the most odious of aggressors to crush Naples' young king. They may protest, but they do nothing." [Horace de Viel Castel, Mémoires du comte Horace de Viel Castel sur le règne de Napoléon III : 1851-1864, 28 January, 1861]
As the Piedmontese shelling intensified, Francis II finally capitulated on 13 February, and Piedmontese troops entered the city the day after. Cialdini, who came in for some criticism for his failure to halt the bombardment of the city whilst peace negotiations were taking place, was made Duca di Gaeta in recognition of his role in the siege.
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks & Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 569, 28 January – 3 February, 2011
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© 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.
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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
Forty-three different authors contributed to the content in the Description de l'Egypte, the publication of which took over twenty-five years to realise in full.
MAGAZINE
Press review
- History Today February 2011
Seen on the web
- National Army Museum: "Britain's Greatest General" competition
- The Description de l'Egypte online
EVENTS
On now and coming up
A selection of events taking place now or in the coming weeks, taken from our What's on listings.
Exhibitions
- "Egypt & Napoleon: War and Science", Haarlem, Netherlands [22/01/2011 - 08/05/2011]
Full details
- "Ecrins impériaux", Paris, France [19/01/2011 - 29/05/2011]
Full details
- "Roger Fenton and Julia Margaret Cameron: Early British Photographs in the Royal Collection", Bowness-on-Windermere, UK [31/01/2011 - 27/04/2011]
Full details
And ending soon...
- "High Society: Mind-Altering Drugs in History and Culture", London, UK [11/11/2010 - 27/02/2011]
Full details
- "L'heure, le feu, la lumière (1800-1870)", Paris, France [21/09/2010 - 27/02/2011]
Full details
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