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In this week's letter...
In this week's letter we've got a brand new Painting of the Month: the French Army crossing the Berezina on 28 November, 1812, in a watercolour painted by a witness of those terrible events. It is on display at the exhibition Napoléon et l'Europe. We also have a jam -packed June schedule for you, with news of two upcoming events: a large period festival of the War of 1812 taking place at Fort York, Toronto (Canada), and a new exhibition about Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte in Baltimore (USA) which opened this week. Then we have a reminder of events that are not to be missed before the end of the month, including the Opiz exhibition in Paris (France) and a talk about the medical provisions at Waterloo in London (England). This week we've also concentrated on 150 and 200 years ago, bringing you summaries of two disparate but both very interesting topics: the Battle of Vitoria in 1813 and the re-organisation of the Louvre museum in 1863. And as usual, you will find details of publications on the right hand side, our best of ‘seen on the web' and journal articles in press review. Enjoy!
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From the Fondation
We are delighted to announce that Thierry Lentz, director of the Fondation Napoléon has been awarded the Guizot prize (with silver medal) by the Academie Française, for his work Napoléon diplomate, published by CNRS Editions. The Guizot prize is the main prize among eleven awarded by the Academie.
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Painting of the Month
The French Army crossing the Berezina on 28 November 1812, anon.
On 19 October 1812, the Grande Armée left Moscow and began its miserable retreat. A month later, on 25 November, 1812, it arrived at the Berezina river, which barred its progression to the west. Under attack from the Russians, the army escaped destruction thanks to the sacrifice of the pontonniers of general Eblé who constructed two bridges which allowed the major part of the army to cross the river on 27 and 28 November. This painting, which depicts the events very precisely, was probably painted by a witness or a veteran like general Langeron, who described the carnage of the scene.
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What's On
The Garrison at York comes to Life, Toronto, Canada
Tour authentic War of 1812 encampments; discover period food, music and entertainment, shop Sutler's Row for historic and period-inspired handicrafts, plus much more. Battle tactical demonstrations by some of the most well known re-enactment groups in Canada, featuring an evening battle re-enactment at dusk on historic Garrison Common.
Woman of Two Worlds: Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte and Her Quest for an Imperial Legacy, Baltimore, USA
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte was one of the femme fatales of the War-of-1812 generation, setting the gossipmongers atwitter with her revealing empire dresses at society events. Her marriage to Napoleon Bonaparte's younger brother Jerome became an international drama. Even at ninety-four, Elizabeth was still making news as one of America's richest women.
The exhibition illustrates the 'two worlds' of France and America that Elizabeth inhabited and showcases her pearl and garnet tiara, silver, porcelain, paintings, textiles, jewelry, manuscripts, furniture and one of her "scandalous" dresses in the French-style.
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Don't Forget
Bloody Fields of Waterloo by Mr Mick Crumplin FRCS, London, UK
This talk aims to give an overview of the Battle of Waterloo and the medical problems encountered and provide information of the Army Medical Department and its preparation and management of medical problems encountered in the Battle. It will outline the series of assaults that occurred during the 9-hour battle which resulted in the defeat of Emperor Napoleon.
Georg Emanuel Opiz: Engravings and Watercolours, Paris, France
An exhibition about the work of the watercolourist Georg Emanuel Opiz (or Opitz, Prague 1775- Leipzig 1841). He is most famous for his emblematic representations of Paris during the tumultuous years of 1813-1814.
The Cabinet des arts graphiques is presenting a selection of 45 of Opiz's works which depict ordinary life in the French capital during this turbulent period of its history.
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150 Years Ago
The reorganisation of the Louvre
The director of the Imperial museums, steward of the art collection of the Emperor's household and member of the Institute of Arts, the comte de Nieuwerkerke, adressed a report to the Emperor which was published by le Moniteur on 14 June 1863. Nieuwerkerke presented the restructuring of the Imperial collections accomplished over a number of years. Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon III) had relaunched an architectural project joining the old palais royal to the Tuileries (cf. the article Quand Napoléon bâtissait le Grand Louvre). The objects were to also benefit from the re-organisation. The Louvre was split into six new, large departments: the Egyptian museum, the museum of antiquities and modern sculpture; the museum of medieval and Renaissance art; the museum of painting, sketches and engravings; the naval museum and the museum of plaster sculpture. Nieuwerkerke was keen to remind readers that this reorganisation over a dozen or so years had demanded more than just the simple movement of objects from the collections: the production of catalgoues and descriptions for the display cases and critiques of the pieces had to fill “the lacunae of preceding governments” had also been necessary. He also noted the will of Napoleon III in the matter of conserving heritage with the foundation of the Soveriegns' museum, American museum, Ethnographic museum and the museum Napoleon III, as well as the Saint-Germain museum (this was was a collection of Celtic and gallo-roman artifacts in the chateau of Saint-Germain-en- Laye). The director of the imperial museums also highlighted thye acquisition of 20, 000 new objects by the museums under his guidance in the space of ten years.
You can see the painting of Visconti presenting his plans for the restructuring work.
200 Years Ago
The Battle of Vitoria
Continually outflanked throughout the month of May 1813 by Wellington's ‘quick and light' manoeuvres, French forces under King Jose Primero retreated into the plain towards Vitoria having previously blown up the fortification at the city of Burgos on 13 June, 1813. The main body of Wellington's army (from their hill positions) watched the French forces cross the Ebro and enter the town of Vitoria largely unmolested, though there were some skirmishes notably at Subijana (twenty or so miles due West of the town) on 19 June when some of the French rear-guard was taken (cavalryman George Woodberry of the 18th Hussars refers to 3,500 prisoners!). Whilst Joseph was outnumbered, he had decided to stand and offer battle hoping that the comte Clauzel, commander of the Armée du Nord, would come to his aid in time. However Clauzel did not arrive, and the king of Spain did not help himself by neglecting to destroy the bridges over the Zadorra river on his right wing which would have hampered British and allied troop movements and permitted his retreat to France . In the end, the British general Graham's pressure on this flank forced the French into a difficult retreat from the other, eastern side of Vitoria on minor roads towards Pamplona . Indeed, on 21 June 1813, Joseph's troops were decidedly on the back foot at this battle which was to mark the end of the French presence in Spain, and they could not withstand the high morale and energy of the attacking British and allied soldiers. Driven back from their forward positions on high ground above the Zadorra river, the French retreated into the town where the baggage train and camp followers were all massed. In the ensuing confusion as British cavalry squadrons and infantry platoons poured through the town, the commander in chief, King Joseph, was nearly captured and the major general commander of the army, Jourdan, lost his marshal's baton. The defeat was catastrophic: losses of 7,500 men, one third of which prisoners, Spanish afrancesado administrators of the kingdom retreating with the French were set upon by locals, and nearly 150 cannon were taken (the whole of the artillery park), not to mention the loss of the entire secretariat (including the army's secret code) and treasury of the kingdom. The British 'squaddies' could not believe their eyes at the gold on offer (some historians even thought that the French had deliberately opened the coffers to slow down the enemy attack…), and officers were still confiscating hundreds of doubloons from British rank and file weeks after the battle. With much of the British van giving up the chase so as to stuff their pockets, the remaining French forces around Joseph managed to retreat towards Pamplona for the denouement of Joseph's reign in Spain …
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks and Andrew Miles
Historians and web editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N0. 675, 14-20 JUNE 2013
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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 the prolongation of its 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
You can still donate online to the project via the Friends of the Fondation de France in the US here
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'NAPOLEON ET L'EUROPE' AT THE MUSEE DE L'ARMEE
- Visiting the exhibition? Buy your tickets online.
napoleon.org-related content:
- Painting of the Month, from the exhibition: Napoleon's Consecration or Coronation
- Interview with E. Robbe, Director of the Exhibition
- Object of the Month, from the exhibtion: Painted Target depicting the Preliminaries of the Peace Negotiations concluded at Leoben in Styria, 1797
- Publications from the exhibition: Napoléon et l'Europe Exhibition Catalogue
MAGAZINE
Just Published
- Horatio Nelson, by Tom Pocock
- Gettysburg: the Story of the Battle with Maps, by the Editors of Stackpole Books
Seen on the web (external links)
- Discovery of a 200 year old banknote in Hampshire (UK)
- History of Parliament blog: Lord Lansdown and Opposition Politics in 1790s
- War of 1812 re-enactment in Canada
Press Review
- Un Bonaparte en el trono de las Españas y de las Indias. Iconografía de José Napoleón I, by Victor Minguez Cornelles
- Blog: Napoleon e il suo tempo
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
- Georg Emanuel Opiz: Engravings and Watercolours [Paris, France 26/03/2013 - 26/06/2013]
- Woman of Two Worlds: Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte and her Quest for an Imperial Legacy [Baltimore, USA 09/06/2013 - 09/06/2014]
Re-enactments
- The Garrison at York comes to Life [Toronto, Canada 15/06/2013 - 16/06/2013]
Talks
- Bloody Fields of Waterloo by Mr Mick Crumplin FRCS [London, UK 27/06/2013 - 27/06/2013]
NAPOLEONICA.LA REVUE
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