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THIS WEEK'S LETTER...
... is once again heavily event-orientated and geographically varied. Tomorrow is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, and as well as details of talks and the city's commemorative parade, we also have a selection of articles, videos and interactive media on the event which has been culled from the internet. Returning to this side of the Atlantic, we bring you news of the upcoming police commissars study day being held in Namur, Belgium, as well as the latest on the London-based Bishopsgate Institute talk on caricatures and monarchy. May is also the month of the European Museums at Night festival, which is now in its eighth year. Napoleon.org has browsed through the programme to bring you a selection of historically-themed events taking place in the UK and France. Returning to the French capital, our painting of the month depicts a poetic vision of Paris and the Seine by the Dutch painter Johan Barthold Jongkind. The Seine also features prominently in this week's 200 years ago, which takes a look at the city's bathing culture during the First Empire period.
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PAINTING OF THE MONTH
The Seine and Notre-Dame de Paris, by Johan Barthold Jongkind
When the Dutchman Jongkind discovered Paris at the end of the reign of Louis-Philippe, it was a revelation to him. The young landscape painter had been attracted to the capital by the painter Eugène Isabey, whom he had met in The Hague, and he was to paint some of his major works in this city. Steeped as he was in the Dutch landscape tradition of canal painting, Jongkind was to produce many paintings of Paris and the river Seine with its remarkable vistas, banks, and bridges. His however was a poetic vision of the city, a Paris of the people, far removed from the widescale renovation that was taking place during the Second Empire and the capital's "grande ville" stylings.
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SEEN ON THE WEB
Cinco de Mayo 2012
2012 is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, an extremely important date in the history of Mexico which is today celebrated across the world as the Cinco de Mayo. This year's commemorations and events are particularly special, and there is a huge amount of activity taking place, both within and without Mexico and on the internet. The Fondation Napoléon has performed a lengthy tour of the web to bring you a selection of links to (mostly Spanish-language) content relating to the battle (including videos and prints), as well information on some of the institutions involved in commemorating the period. On the left-hand side (in our Magazine section), you will also find a number of Cinco de Mayo/Battle of Puebla events taking place in the next week.
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WHAT'S ON
"Police commissars under the Revolution and Empire", Namur, Belgium
In recent years, the history of the police has undergone a resurgence amongst researchers. Despite the subject's increasing popularity, books dedicated specifically to police commissars during the Revolution and Empire periods unfortunately are few and far between. And whilst there has been research performed into historical figures serving in Paris or on a national level, the daily work of commissars operating on a local level remains, on the whole, unexplored. This study day, organised by the FUNDP Namur history department and taking place on 11 May, will seek to offer an initial overview of police commissars - a newly professionalised role that subsequently came to symbolise the period - during the Revolution and Empire years. Entry to the event is free.
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Bishopsgate Institute talks: "Monarchy & Republicanism: Culture, Monarchy and Republicanism", London, UK
From the illustrations of cartoonists Gillray and Daumier in the 19th century through to the recent Oscar-winning The King's Speech, this talk explores how the monarchy has been represented in popular culture over the last two centuries. Drawing on art and film, Fred Inglis, Honorary Professor of Cultural History at the University of Warwick and Emeritus Professor at the University of Sheffield, looks at the various depictions of members of the royal family up to the present Queen and examines how they may be a reflection of the monarchy's position at the time.
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European Museums at Night 2012, Europe
The European Museums at Night event continues to grow year upon year, and as is our wont, we have assembled a selection of historically-themed events taking place in Britain, including evening tours and talks at Apsley House (the former home of the Duke of Wellington), Down House (the former home of Charles Darwin), and the National Army Museum. A selection of events taking place in France can be found on napoleon.org's French site.
200 YEARS AGO
First Empire bathing and swimming in the Seine
Le Moniteur dated 7 May 1812, published rules for bathing establishments. It must be borne in mind that bathing and swimming were two essentially different activities. Baths were taken largely for health reasons, and swimming was a standard part of the young middle class people's upbringing alongside dancing, fencing and horse riding. Baths were constructed in the river and they had to be covered (so that bathers could not be spied on) and well built. They were provided with poles and ropes, and bathers would enter the water and hang onto the pole or rope for about ten minutes and then leave. Entrance fee was fixed at no more than 20 centimes (ten per cent of a workman's day's wages). There were separate pools for the different sexes (even the routes to the pools were to be segregated), and both men and women wore a voluminous shirt in the water. It was expressly forbidden to leave the water naked. Opening times were exceedingly generous, running from dawn to 10pm. As for those who wanted "to perfect the art of swimming", they could either go in the river (at which point they had to be accompanied by a licensed lifeguard) or they could go to special swimming schools. These too were on the river and looked like a hollowed out boat with a net from one side to the other under the water to prevent swimmers getting out under the boat (or from being swept away). They were exclusively masculine (women were not allowed to go to bathing school until the Restoration), and the required garment was a caleçon or type of swimming trunks. These establishments could only be set up between the Pont d'Austerlitz and the Pont de la Concorde. One famous bathing establishment, la Piscine de Ligny was founded in 1786 and lasted until it sank in 1993!
150 YEARS AGO
The Battle of Puebla
On 4 May 1862, General de Lorencez, commander of the French expedition to Mexico, decided to launch a quick assault on the settlement of Puebla. Although the city was defended by 12,000 Mexican troops, de Lorencez had been assured by his advisors that the Mexicans would not put up much of a fight. On 5 May, the assault began, and the French attackers found a far more resolute defence than had initially been expected. The assault met with little success, and de Lorencez was forced to call a retreat. French losses totalled 476 men, whilst 227 Mexican defenders were reportedly killed, wounded or missing. Find out more in our close-up on: the Mexican campaign, 1862-1867.
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks & Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 625, 4 - 10 MAY 2012
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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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OPERATION ST HELENA
The Fondation Napoléon and the Souvenir Napoléonien, in association with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have announced an international fund-raising campaign to restore and save Napoleon I's residence on the island of St Helena. All the details regarding the campaign as well as donation forms and advice for donating from outside France, can be found on napoleon.org.
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...
MAGAZINE
Press review
- The Guardian: visiting Corsica and the Napoleon trail
- The Scotsman: broach belonging to Caroline Bonaparte sells for more than £50,000
- New Napoleonic wars DLC for Mount & Blade: Warband game
- Gibraltar Chronicle: new memorial for Peninsular soldier
- History Today May 2012
Seen on the web
- Cinco de Mayo 2012 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.
Festivals
- European Museums at Night 2012, Europe [18/05/2012 - 20/05/2012]
Full details
Parades
- Cinco de Mayo Parade, Puebla, Mexico [05/05/2012]
Full details
Talks
- "Battle of Cinco de Mayo", Tucson, USA [03/05/2012]
Full details
- "Cinco de Mayo 150 years later: Beyond Borders, Battles, and Beer", Los Angeles, USA [13/05/2012]
Full details
- "Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole: Nurse and Doctres", London, UK [17/05/2012]
Full details
Study days
- "Police commissars during the French Revolution and the Empire", Namur, Belgium [11/05/2012]
Full details
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
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