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THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN n° 714, 16-22 MAY, 2014
EDITORIAL
Napoleonic Abounds...
Not sure if it's a bicentenary effect, but every week, we just seem to get more and more napoleonica. This week's bulletin in its French and English manifestations is once again packed with different things to do, read and look at related to the two empires. In the French ‘Lettre', you can watch our Director, Thierry Lentz, along with university historian Patrice Gueniffey and Amaury Lefebure (Director of Malmaison Museum) on a French chat show, you can see a trailer of a new film about Waterloo which comes out soon. In the English ‘Bulletin' you can plan your Napoleonic summer holidays (even take a Napoleonic hike on the island of Elba), read about the battle of Austerlitz, and attempts to steal Napoleon from St Helena in a submarine. You can even plan to visit the Fondation to hear the first of its mini-series of lectures in English. In short, for those of us of the Napoleonic persuasion, it's a great time to be around!
Peter Hicks
International Affairs Manager
OBITUARY > JACK SIGLER
Dr. Jack Sigler, PhD graduate of the Centre for Napoleon and the French Revolution at Florida State University (supervisor Don Horward), treasurer of the Masséna Society and specialist on Major General Paul Thiébault, passed away on 13 May, 2014. Jack was a key figure in the creation of the Massena Society and regular attendee of the Consortium. Whenever in France he regularly came to work in the Fondation's library. He was a man with a great sense of humour, a wry smile, and a great deal of common sense. He will be sorely missed. The Fondation Napoléon offers its sincerest condolences to his wife Ruth and his family. You can read a commemorative article about Jack Sigler here.
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NAPOLEONIC SUMMER HOLIDAYS
Already daydreaming about your summer holidays? If your vacation is taking you to France this year, why not enjoy some of the many Napoleonic events on offer across the country? We've put together this handy guide to all things Napoleonic, from exhibitions to re-enactments, horse and carriage rides to sound-and-light shows.
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WATERLOO SPECIAL
With the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo fast approaching, we wanted to take a moment to round up a few Waterloo happenings to keep an eye on over the coming months. You can now sign up for the mailing list of the official Waterloo 2015 website (external link), which promises to provide not only some interesting historical material but also the first information about tickets to the event itself. The Project Hougoumont Appeal is going from strength to strength, and their website (external link) has a brilliant video presented by Peter Snow about the importance of saving Hougoumont Farm. And, if you're in the area, be sure not to miss Boris Nicaise speaking at the Musée Wellington on 27 May.
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EUROPEAN NIGHT OF MUSEUMS > SATURDAY 17TH MAY
On the night of 17th-18th May, museums and cultural institutions across Europe will open their doors late into the night as part of the European Night of Museums (known as La Nuit des Musées in France, Museums at Night in the UK…) Museums combine the late opening with special installations, activities and performances, as well as free entry, so be sure not miss out - the Musée de l'Armée at Invalides and the Musée Napoléon Ier in Brienne-le-Château are taking part.
CONFERENCE IN ENGLISH AT THE FONDATION NAPOLEON > “NAPOLEON'S GHOST AND THE HAUNTING OF THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN OF 1859”
On 22 May, Frederick Schneid will speak at the Fondation Napoléon in English on “The Ghost of Napoleon and the Haunting of the Italian Campaign of 1859.” Professor Schneid will explore how the enormous success of Napoleon's Italian campaign haunted the strategies and actions of all sides during the early stages of Italian unification. To reserve a place for this exciting event, please email Brigitte Claré or telephone the Fondation on 01 56 43 46 00. Spaces are limited!
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NAPOLEONICA LA REVUE > "THE ATTEMPT TO RESCUE NAPOLEON WITH A SUBMARINE: FACT OR FICTION?" by Emilio Ocampo
As we've been thinking a lot about Napoleon's time on islands recently, what with the bicentenary commemorations of his arrival on Elba and the commemorations held on St Helena on 5 May, it seemed appropriate to turn to Emilio Ocampo's intriguing article about the supposed plan to rescue the Emperor from exile with a submarine...
200 YEARS AGO > NAPOLEON SOVEREIGN OF ELBA. BUT WHAT OF THE MARSHALS...?
Murat (in Naples) and Bernadotte (in Sweden) were working hard to keep their thrones. Gouvion Saint-Cyr had been taken prisoner after capitulating at Dresden and was being held in Carsbad by the Austrians. Suchet was in Narbonne having returned to France after protecting the return of Ferdinand VII to Spain. Soult was negotiating with Wellington after his defeat at Toulouse, thereafter returning to the Paris region. Davout was under siege in Hamburg refusing to surrender to the Russians. Bessières, Lannes and Poniatowski were dead. As for the rest (apart from Kellerman, Sérurier and Brune, who were no longer under arms, and Perignon, who was returning from Naples), Augereau, Moncey, Masséna and Jourdan were performing military roles in France. In and around Fontainebleau, having taken part in the French campaign, were Berthier, Grouchy, Lefebvre, Macdonald, Marmont, Mortier, Ney, Oudinot and Victor. After the abdication, none of them followed the emperor to Elba, preferring to serve France rather than Napoleon. Augereau, Berthier, Gouvion, Kellerman, Lefebvres, Macdonald, Marmont, Moncey, Mortier, Ney, Oudinot, Perignon, Sérurier, Soult, Suchet and Victor were all to be appointed Marshals and Peers by Louis XVIII on 4 June, 1814. Masséna and Jourdan were not included since they were considered suspect. Brune (in disgrace since 1807), though rallying to the Bourbons and appointed Chevalier of Saint-Louis, was left out, as was Davout, who because of his resistance at Hamburg was felt to be hostile. Of all these, Napoleon on his return from Elba appointed 12 marshals, namely, the last four excluded marshals, and eight of the least ‘compromised'. As for Augereau, Berthier, Marmont, Perignon and Victor, they were to be struck off the list.
150 YEARS AGO > THÉOPHILE GAUTIER ON ERNEST MEISSONIER'S “1814”
On 18 May 1864, a critique of Meissonier's masterpiece 1814 was published in the official newspaper the Moniteur. At that time, 1814 was on display as part of the Salon of 1864, and this critique was written by none other than Théophile Gautier: the author of poetry collections such as Enamels and Cameos (1852) and swashbuckling novels like Captain Fracasse (1863) had also been publishing articles on art and literature since the 1830s. Gautier's text focuses on Meissonier's great talent for painting scenes of daily life. He writes: “this talent – so peaceful, so fine, so patient – has reached its peak in his 1814, where it attains a tragic grandeur. There is nothing blunt or emphatic here, however, no theatrical composition, none of the means normally used to create an effect. Only the truth, pure and simple; but that rare truth that only superior spirits see, a prose that becomes poetry by dint of concision, of clarity, of honesty in each and every line, as in Stendhal's account of the Battle of Waterloo or the Redoubt by Merimée. If any work can be said to have a profound individuality, an absolute modernity, it is this work by Meissonier. It takes nothing from tradition: none of the usual tricks of the trade would fit. Standing before this painting, we have the rare sensation of being in front of something completely new. […] 1814 is a masterpiece, and the date of the Exhibition that produced it will not be forgotten. It would be impossible to place more grandeur in a narrow frame, or to express more truly or more strikingly the heroism and unwavering effort of supreme courage. The heart and soul of France beat in this masculine painting, which we hope the artist, carried away by his love for absolute perfection, will not retouch.”
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks and Francesca Whitlum-Cooper
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 714, 16-22 MAY, 2014
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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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EVENTS
A selection of events taking place now or in the coming weeks, taken from our What's on listings.
WHAT'S ON
- La Nuit Aux Invalides – only one week left!! [24/04/2014 - 24/05/2014]
- Conference at the Biblioteca Comunale de Canino [18/05/2014]
- Frederick Schneid "Napoleon's Ghost", at the Fondation Napoléon [22/05/2014]
- Alexander Mikaberidze, "The world consequences of the Napoleonic wars" at the Fondation Napoléon [28/05/2014]
- Exhibition - Treasures from the Royal Archives, Windsor [17/05/2014 - 25/01/2015]
JUST PUBLISHED
- DIETRICH, William, The Three Emperors: An Ethan Gage Adventure (Harper Collins)
SEEN ON THE WEB
- Tipu Sultan's ring, taken by Wellington after the Battle of Seringapatam, at auction in London next week
- Atlantic article “How We Get Tall” – Napoleon vindicated!
- Jefferson's deal for Louisiana
WAR OF 1812
- Award-winning author and retired Army Colonel will speak on the 200th Anniversary of the Attack on Wareham, Massachusetts
- The 2014 U.S. Army Soldier Show pays tribute to the 200th anniversary of "The Defence of Fort McHenry"
- Major plans for Battle of Plattsburgh bicentenary
- Different Trajectories in War of 1812
- The “Fighting Quaker” of 1812
THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
The library is open on Mondays and Tuesdays from 1pm to 6pm and on Thursdays and Fridays from 10am to 3pm. The library is closed on Wednesdays.
Online database catalogue
Digital Library
Contact
NAPOLEONICA LES ARCHIVES
Site of digitised Napoleonic archival material:
The working papers or 'imprimés' of the Napoleonic Conseil d'Etat, the correspondence of Vivant Denon, etc.
http://www.napoleonica.org
Contact: napoleonica@napoleon.org
NAPOLEONICA. LA REVUE
International peer-review interdisciplinary e-review on the history of the two Empires, bilingual French-English, 3 issues per year, free access.
Read the review on Cairn.info
Contact: napoleonicalarevue@napoleon.org
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