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EDITO > THE BICENTENARY OF WATERLOO – SHOULD WE TAKE PART IN IT?
The Fondation Napoléon has decided to take part in the commemoration of the bicentenary of the battle, and in no small measure. There are several reasons for this.
First of all – and, in the end, the only real reason – this is because we work with history, and it is undeniable that the Battle of Waterloo was a major historical event of great consequence. The ill-fated conflict was perhaps the only truly decisive battle of the hundred or so waged by Napoleon.
Secondly, because it is a matter which is quintessentially European. Of course, the battle itself and the treaty of Vienna, signed and agreed before the encounter took place, were only the first steps towards the modern organisation of the continent. Afterwards, too, Europe would relapse into great violence. But this bicentenary can and must be a pan-European event. A strong French presence, including at the highest political level at the official ceremonies of commemoration, seems to me to be fitting. After all, and mutatis mutandis (I hasten to add), the German chancellors do indeed come to Normandy. And we can naturally count on the Belgian authorities to keep events in balance. The fact is, two hundred years have passed, and we can view the events calmly and dispassionately. This message may perhaps come over to our British friends.
Thirdly, we are greatly looking forward to what will be the biggest Napoleonic re-enactment that has ever taken place, bringing together more than 5,000 re-enactors and undoubtedly more than 150,000 spectators. After all, as François Furet said, historians are allowed to enjoy their subject, too! The event promises to be a great opportunity to meet Napoleonic enthusiasts and scholars from around the world; never mind if the occasion is the re-enactment of a lost battle, from the French perspective.
The Fondation Napoléon is thus delighted to work with the organisers of the bicentenary celebrations (ASBL Waterloo 1815, the local communes, etc.), and we have also launched a few initiatives of our own.
The first of these, a conference on the memory of Waterloo, took place last Saturday, kicking off the bicentenary events. Well-attended by the public, the event was also a great success thanks to the high quality of the contributions.
Still to come is the inauguration of the exhibition Napoléon-Wellington, Destins croisés (“Napoleon and Wellington: shared destinies”), which will open at the Wellington Museum, Waterloo on 20 March, the anniversary of Napoleon's triumphant arrival at the Tuileries Palace. Several hundred items will be on display to the public until July; the rare items include the uniform thought to have been worn by the Emperor at the battle itself, lent by the Museum of Sens, Burgundy.
As you can see, the bicentenary of the battle of Waterloo will be no bleak affair – certainly not as bleak as Victor Hugo found the plain that hosted it, in his poem ‘L'expiation' from Les châtiments. Historical understanding can only be enriched by it, and with a good measure of fun thrown in too.
Thierry Lentz
Directeur of Fondation Napoléon
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PAINTING OF THE MONTH > LA FONTAINE ET LA PLACE DU CHÂTELET EN 1810
In 1810, Parisians and tourists had every reason to enjoy this beautiful square, at the center of which stood the majestic Fontaine du Palmier honouring the victories of the Great Army. It replaced the grim and massive prison-fortress, the Grand Châtelet ...
This painting will be presented at the exhibition "Napoléon et Paris, rêves d'une capitale" at the Carnavalet Museum, from 8 April to 30 August 2015.
Next weekend, the "Emperor rides once again in Paris" (external link in English). The Souvenir Napoléon is organising a re-enactment (external link in French) of the arrival of Napoleon in Paris 200 years ago. The event will be held at the Carrousel du Louvre on March 20, at 2.30pm.
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EXHIBITION WATERLOO > “NAPOLEON WELLINGTON: DESTINS CROISÉS”
The Fondation Napoléon is co-curating the first comparative exhibition to focus on Wellington and Napoleon. To celebrate the Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo, the exhibition “Shared Destinies” explores the military, political and personal lives of the two great adversaries, with over 200 objects, a third of which come from the Fondation Napoleon's own collection. To be inaugurated on the 20 March, the day Napoleon returned to Paris over 200 years ago, the exhibition will be open to the public 21 March – 31 July 2015.
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ROUTE DU PRINCE IMPÉRIAL
As we celebrate this week the anniversary of the birth, 16 March 1856, of the Prince Impérial, son of Napoleon III and Eugénie, we thought it was a good moment to remind you about several events which are happening later this year in May 2015, as part of "French Week in PMB” (Pietermaritzburg). As part of the 19th anniversary of La Route du Prince Impérial, Louis Napoléon, events include wine tastings, exhibition tour, concert, requiem mass, and even a “Prince Imperial Fun Run”.
THE PRINCE IMPERIAL'S WATCH TO RETURN TO A PRIVATE COLLECTION
The current heir to the family that had lent the watch to Kwa Muhle Museum in Durban has asked for its withdrawal from the museum. Read more about it here.
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BRITISH WRITERS, WAR AND WATERLOO > TWO EXHIBITIONS OPENING THIS WEEK 16 MARCH
The subject of war has featured in literature over the centuries. In particular the epic battle at Waterloo made a deep mark on many writers on both sides of the Channel. Two british museums, the Brontë Museum in Haworth and the Wordsworth Museum in Grasmere, will focus on the ways in which the battle of Waterloo and its aftermath influenced in the work of several British writers.
Wordsworth, War and Waterloo is curated by Jeff Cowton of the Wordsworth Trust, and Professor Simon Bainbridge of Lancaster University, a leading authority on the subject of literature and war in the Romantic period; You can listen to him (in this BBC pod-cast, external link), as he travelled to Paris and to Waterloo, tracing the footsteps of the British literary pilgrims and the decriers and explores their love-hate relationship with Napoleon and his legacy in British literature.
The Brontë Museum is even organising a special trip to Waterloo in June, including visits to places in Brussels connected with the Brontë sisters, as a prolongation of its exhibition The Brontës, War and Waterloo.
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WATERLOO BICENTENARY OPENING > VICTOR HUGO RETURNS TO THE BATTLFIELD
The opening of the Bicentenary of Waterloo celebrations in Waterloo in June will be a spectacular sound and light show directed by Luc Petit. Inspired by the Victor Hugo's poem "L'expiation” (external link in French), part of Les châtiments written in 1852, in which Hugo famously describes the Waterloo battlefield as a “morne pleine” (“bleak field”), despite having not ever seen it. Nine years later Hugo did actually visit Waterloo and indeed it was there that he penned the last few lines of “Les Miserables”. Read more about Luc Petit's project here. (external link in French)
CERCLE D'ÉTUDES > LECTURE PROGRAM AT THE FONDATION NAPOLÉON > TALK: "HONNEUR ET VIOLENCES DE GUERRE AU TEMPS DE NAPOLEON. LA CAMPAGNE DE CALABRE".
Nicolas Cadet will give a lecture on Thursday 2 April 2015 at 18h at the Fondation Napoléon based on his book (“War violence in Napoleon's time”), published in February by Vendémiaire. Registration for the conference will open on 19 March. More details here (in French).
The regular history paragraphs "200 YEARS AGO" and "150 YEARS AGO" will be suspended for a few weeks. But don't worry, they'll be back soon!
Wishing you an excellent Napoleonic week!
Peter Hicks and Rebecca Young (with Syamala Roberts)
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN No. 750, 13 - 19 MARCH, 2015
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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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WATERLOO BICENTENARY 1815-2015
What's on this year relating to the Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo: commemorations, books, exhibitions, news ...
WATERLOO WHAT'S ON (updated 13/3/15)
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WATERLOO SEEN ON THE WEB (updated 13/3/15)
WATERLOO READING LIST (updated 13/3/15)
ALWAYS AVAILABLE
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- Check the homepage on: http://www.napoleon.org/en/home.asp
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napoleon.org - related content:
PRESS REVIEW
- Review of Leighton S. James's “Witnessing the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in German Central Europe. War, Culture and Society, 1750-1850” on h-net.org
JUST PUBLISHED
- MUCHLER, Günter, "Napoleons hundert Tage" (Darmstadt, 2014)
- FRANKLIN, John (Author) and EMBLETON, Gerry (Illustrator), "Waterloo 1815 (1): Quatre Bras", (London 2014)
- FRANKLIN, John (Author) and EMBLETON, Gerry (Illustrator), "Waterloo 1815 (2): Ligny (Campaign)", (London, 2015)
WHAT'S ON (see our website for all events)
Talks
- "The Red Stick War", talk by Dr. Kathryn Holland Braund, Florence, AL (USA)[22/03/2015]
- "British admirers of Napoleon", talk by Sheila O'Connell, British Museum (UK)[24/03/2015]
- A lecture by Michael Crumplin; "The Blood Fields of Waterloo". National Army Museum (UK) (external link) [26/03/2015]
- "Decorative arts in the time of Napoleon and Wellington", talk by Hilary Williams, British Museum (UK) [27/03/2015]
- "Living Memories", Andrew and Rachel Jackson impersonators, Dave McArdle and Melinda Gaines, Florence, AL (USA) [29/03/2015]
Conferences
- Sixth Wellington Congress 2015 - University of Southampton, UK. [10/04/2015 - 12/04/2015]
- Waterloo 200 Conference at Sandhurst, UK [16/04/2015 - 17/04/2015]
- Conference "L'année 1815", Paris [14/04/2015 - 15/04/2015]
Study Days
- Waterloo 1815 Study Day at Higham Hall, Lake District, UK [27/03/2015 - 29/03/2015]
Theatre/Concerts
- Performing Napoleon: Regency toy theatre show, British Museum, UK [13 March]
Exhibitions
- The Brontës, War and Waterloo [16/03/2015 - 03/01/2015]
- Modern Heroism: Printmaking and the legacy of Napoleon Bonaparte The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge UK [03/02/2015 - 28/06/2015]
- Waterloo Remembered: foyer exhibition and events at Dumfries Museum and Camera Obscura, Scotland [03/02/2015 - 03/01/2016]
- National Army Museum: Waterloo Lives: exhibitions around the UK [21/02/2015 - 28/11/2015]
- Waterloo: Life & Times” at the Fan Museum, Greenwich, London [27/01/2015 - 10/05/2015]
- Wellington: Triumphs, Politics and Passions - Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery 12/03/2015 - 07/06/2015]
- Wordsworth, War and Waterloo, at Wordsworth Museum, Grasmere, Cumbria [16/03/2015 - 01/11/2015]
Commemorations
- Waterloo Day: Re-enactment drill of the Irish Redcoats - Dublin, Ireland[21/03/2015]
- Living History weekend honouring General Andrew Jackson and the victors of New Orleans - Natchez, Washington, Mississippi [24/04/2015 - 26/04/2015]
- Major Percy victory route (recreated by bike): The Ride of the Lions, Waterloo 200 [17/06/2015 - 20/06/2015]
WATERLOO WHAT'S ON (updated 13/3/15)
SEEN ON THE WEB (all external links)
- Brontë Parsonage Museum staff in Haworth meet their Waterloo
- How the war had influence on the Brontës' writing
- Exiled Emperor Napoleon III and Eugenie feature in Ben Ellis's play “The Armour” at the Langham, London, until 4 April
- Spectacular images of Waterloo projected on to the Wellington Arch ahead of 200th anniversary of famous battle
- Wellington: Triumphs Politics and Passions, National Portrait Gallery, review: 'a peach of a show'
- Napoleon's famous hat goes back to Waterloo for bicentenary (video in English)
- Why we must remember the bloody cost of Waterloo
"WATERLOO" SEEN ON THE WEB (link to our website, updated 13/3/15)
WAR OF 1812 (external links)
- Historian Gene Smith to present on slaves and the War of 1812 3 April, AL
- “The War of 1812 in Fredericksburg, Part 2” (talk by historian Noel Harrison, 8 April)
- Reflecting on James Madison and the War of 1812
THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
The library is normally 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
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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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