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EDITORIAL > TALLEYRAND IN ACTION
This week, we present a portrait of Talleyrand painted by Baron Gérard. The unsinkable, the unmovable Talleyrand is as close as you get to the French hero of the Congress of Vienna, the bicentenary of which is happening as we speak... The French society “Les amis de Talleyrand”, or 'Friends of Talleyrand', is rightly making the most of this bicentenary and has organised a conference on 8 and 9 June, at the ‘Hôtel Talleyrand' in Paris. Entitled appropriately “Talleyrand, l'indispensable” (“the indispensible Talleyrand”), the conference will be host to eleven eminent historians, specialists on both Talleyrand, and on the Congress of Vienna, the emblematic moment in the long career during which Talleyrand had a decisive influence on the diplomatic affairs of France. Each of them will examine this enigmatic figure, in the context of the action of 1814-1815. A conference as indispensable as the man who inspired it...
Marie de Bruchard
Web Editor for napoleon.org/fr
ALAIN PIGEARD REAPPOINTED AS CHAIRMAN OF THE SOUVENIR NAPOLÉONIEN
On May 6, the steering committee of the Souvenir Napoléonien reappointed Mr. Alain Pigeard as chairman of the Souvenir napoléonien, for a second term of three years. Ex officio member of the Fondation Napoléon's Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Souvenir napoléonien will therefore continue to exercise the role of Secretary. The main napoleonic association in France is also represented on the Board of the Foundation, by four of its members, currently Jacques Macé (assistant treasurer of the Fondation), Gérard Moyaux, Guy Carrieu and Dr. Jacques Palombo. We express our congratulations and best wishes to Mr. Alain Pigeard and his team.
CERCLE D'ÉTUDES DE LA FONDATION NAPOLEON > LECTURE SERIES
On Wednesday 27 May 2015 at 6pm, history professor François Boespflug will give a talk on the topic of "Napoléon et Dieu. Iconographie comparée” at the Fondation Napoléon in Paris (Espace Baron Gourgaud). Inscriptions for this event open on 12 May (see here for more details and inscription form in French).
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PAINTING OF THE MONTH > PORTRAIT OF TALLEYRAND BY FRANÇOIS GÉRARD
When Baron Gérard painted this portrait of Talleyrand in 1808, the two men had been acquainted for some years. Commissioned by Talleyrand himself, otherwise known as the Prince of Benevento, the date of its first public presentation was timed to coincide with another important moment…
SEMINAR "TALLEYRAND, L'INDISPENSABLE"
On the 8 and 9 June the 'Hôtel Talleyrand' in Paris is hosting a symposium organised by the Society Les Amis de Talleyrand, with the support of the Embassy of United States in France and the Cultural Heritage Program, which focuses on Napoleon's fascinating minister, timed to coincide with the bicentenary of the Congress of Vienna. The detailed program and registration form are now available.
WATERLOO > PODCAST
Thierry Lentz's lecture on Waterloo given on 16 April at La Roche-sur-Yon as part of the events organised by the Institut catholique d'études supérieures and the Fondation Napoléon is now available for download (in French).
SPECIAL > WATERLOO EXHIBITIONS
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'THE ROAD TO WATERLOO' AND ‘WATERLOO LIVES: THE GORDON HIGHLANDERS' (THE GORDON HIGHLANDERS MUSEUM, ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND)
The Gordon Highlanders regiment was created in 1794 specifically to fight the French in the wars of the Revolutionary period. There are two exhibits currently offered by this regimental museum in Aberdeen. The first, the "Road to Waterloo", looks into the history of the Regiment and features rare artefacts from the museum's collection. the second, “Waterloo Lives” (in partnership with the National Army Museum), features a range of personal letters, diaries and notes along which prestigious loans from the London museum, allowing museum visitors to experience the day of the battle through the first-hand accounts of the local Aberdeen soldiers who fought there.
> '"A DAMNED SERIOUS BUSINESS": WATERLOO 1815, THE BATTLE AND ITS BOOKS' (CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY)
This exhibition explores the way the history of the battle of Waterloo was constructed in the early days and years following the battle, through letters, maps, documents, prints, and even tourist souvenirs that were picked up near the battlefield in the immediate aftermath of the battle. Thanks to state-of-the-art scanning equipment the world-famous university library has made a large part of the material available as an online exhibit. Online videos complete the experience.
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> 'WELLINGTON AND WATERLOO: "THE TALE IS IN EVERY ENGLISHMAN'S MOUTH"' (UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON LIBRARY, UK)
The University of Southampton's Waterloo Bicentenary exhibition focuses on the battle from the Duke of Wellington's perspective, drawing heavily on the Wellington Archive, (a database containing about 100,000 documents). It includes preparatives for the battle, descriptions of the encounter in the official reports, and a letter from Wellington to Lord Aberdeen informing him of the death of the latter's brother Sir Alexander Gordon, one of Wellington's aides-de-camp, as well as other memorabilia.
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'WATERLOO' EXHIBITION AT THE BOMANN-MUSEUM (CELLE, GERMANY)
This exhibition, entitled 'Waterloo', focuses in particular on the King's German Legion, the royal Hanoverian army established in 1813-1814. It played a much more significant role in the battle than has previously been recognised. The Museum also proposes a symposium on German troops at Waterloo, the workshop 'Waterloo Revisited', and an exhibition on film representations of Napoleon I, later this year.
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TELEVISION > WELLINGTON: THE IRON DUKE UNMASKED
Richard E. Grant will play the Duke of Wellington in a documentary about Wellington's love life to be broadcast on BBC Two at 9pm (GMT) on Sunday, 10 May. (external link)
200 YEARS AGO > MURAT'S 'LAST RIDE' ENDS IN FAILURE.
Even before the start of the French Campaign (which began in February 1814), Murat had chosen to negotiate with Austria in order to retain his throne in Naples (see Bulletin No. 696). The allies were watching the sovereign carefully, unsure as to where his allegiance really lay. In France in particular, Talleyrand was waiting for Napoleon's brother-in-law to put a foot out of line, intending to use it as the excuse to put Ferdinand IV back on the throne of Naples. Ten months later, in December 1814, the epistolary exchanges between Murat and Napoleon (see Bulletin No. 740), proof of their reconciliation, succeeded in convincing the allies, including Austria, to follow this position. Before the return of Napoleon, Metternich warned Murat: if a single Neapolitan soldier were to stray beyond the borders of the kingdom, this would be considered an act of war.
Informed of the Emperor's plans by Colonna d'Istria, one of Madame Mère chamberlains recently arrived from Elba, Murat sent an agent to Vienna to plead the cause of Napoleon. But the enthusiasm caused by Napoleon's return to France, which Murat's wife Caroline did not share, pushed Murat to go further than the Emperor's recommendations to stick to diplomatic actions. On 10 March, when he learned that his brother-in-law was in Grenobles, Murat decided to go to Ancona with his army and on 21 March entered the Papal States, triggering Pius VII's flight to Florence. Austria, however, had no troops available to stop the potential progression of the King of Naples. Against all expectations, Murat did not use this advantage and strangely decided to stay ten days in Ancona, probably convinced that his mere presence would be enough incentive for the Italians to rise up against the Austrians. Determined to challenge the Austrians, he sent 40,000 of his men both to the Po (a river which crosses northern Italy) and to Florence. Arriving in Rimini on 30 March, Murat called upon the population to revolt for independence in a proclamation (text here, in Italian - external link). His progress with his 30,000 remaining men was not stopped until 7 April at Occhiobello, where he was forced to retreat to Bologna. From then on, the King of Naples was beating a retreat, and desertion among the ranks of his army accelerated. The lost battle between Macerata and Tolentino, between 2 and 4 of May, sealed his fate. On 11 May, his army numbered only 9,000 men...
150 YEARS AGO > DANTE, UNIFIER OF ITALY…
The Sixth Centenary Festival of the birth of the poet Dante Alighieri, author of the “Divine Comedy”, took place in Florence over three days, 14-16 May, 1865. Accounts mentioned 8,000 visitors arriving by train on 12 and 13 May, and nearly 100,000 were said to have gathered by the first day of celebrations which were to include concerts, firework displays and exhibitions. It was hoped that a celebration of Dante Alighieri's birth would form a central point of pride around which all Italians would gather and which would therefore serve as a motor in Italian unification, in that Dante was pan-Italian and not just a Florentine hero. As the official guide book to the celebrations noted: "And if the work of national regeneration be not yet complete, we behold, at least, an earnest of its approaching and happy consummation in this reunion of Italians in one thought, one sentiment, and one most holy name, the name of the precursor of the unity and freedom of Italy, Dante Alighieri." Such sentiments must have warmed Napoleon III's heart...
For a short book recounting the event, see Dante scholar Henry Clark Barlow's publication, here (external link).
Wishing you an excellent Napoleonic week!
Peter Hicks and Rebecca Young (with Syamala Roberts)
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN No. 758, 8 - 14 MAY, 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 8/5/15)
WATERLOO > SEEN ON THE WEB (updated 8/5/15)
WATERLOO > READING LIST (updated 8/5/15)
Follow us on Facebook and on Twitter!
napoleon.org - related content:
PRESS REVIEW (external links)
- "Review of Brian Cathcart's The News From Waterloo" (in Irish Times)
- Review of Andrew Bamford's Gallantry and Discipline
JUST PUBLISHED
- SNOW Peter, SNOW Dan, The Battle of Waterloo Experience, (London, 2015)
- BAMFORD, Andrew, Gallantry and Discipline: The 12th Light Dragoons at War with Wellington (London, 2014)
WHAT'S ON (see our website for all events)
Talks
- 'Waterloo 1815-2015. Dans les coulisses du making off' Brussels, Belgium [12/05/2015]
- Waterloo and Wellington: Lecture Series, Apsley house, London [05/05/2015 - 21/06/2015]
- 'The News from Waterloo' by Brian Cathcart, Muswell Hill, UK [13/05/2015]
- "Battle of Waterloo: A Defining Moment", by Paul Chamberlain, Berkhamstead and Peterborough, UK [11/05/2015 and 29/05/2015]
- "The Hundred Days: Napoleon's Road from Elba to Waterloo", by Mark Adkin, Army & Navy Club, London [11/06/2015]
- Andrew Roberts and Jenny Uglow in conversation about Waterloo, Charleston Festival, UK [16/05/2015]
- "Napoleon the Great", by Andrew Roberts, British Museum [19/06/2015]
- Battle of Waterloo Commemorative Walks in London, UK [21/03/2015 - 20/06/2015]
Conferences
- International congress “From Battlefield to Drawing Room: textile and (military) fashion around 1815” Brussels, Belgium [10/06/2015 - 12/06/2015]
- 'Waterloo Revisited' Bomann-Museum, Celle, Germany [12-13/06/2015]
- 'Popular Reactions and State Responses to the 100 Days' University of Warwick, UK [07/07/2015]
- 'Die Schlacht von Waterloo 1815 und die deutschen Truppen' Bomann-Museum, Celle, Germany [19/09/2015]
Exhibitions
- '"A damned serious business": Waterloo 1815, the battle and its books' Cambridge University Library, UK, and online [01/05/2015 - 16/09/2015]
- 'Wellington and Waterloo: "the tale is in every Englishman's mouth"' University of Southampton Library, UK [13 April -19 June and 13-24 July 2015]
- 'The Road to Waterloo' and ‘Waterloo Lives' Gordon Highlanders Museum, Aberdeen, Scotland [03/02/2015 - 28/11/2015]
- 'Waterloo' at the Bomann-Museum, Celle, Germany [02/04/2015 - 11/10/2015]
- 'Napoleon und Bayern' Bayerisches Armeemuseum, Ingolstadt, Germany [30/04/2015 - 30/10/2015]
- 'Napoléon Ier ou la légende des Arts, 1800 –1815' Compiègne, France [24/04/2015 - 27/04/2015]
- 'Waterloo 1815 - The Battle for Peace' at Wellington Arch and new display at Apsley House London UK [18/04/2015 - 30/12/2015]
- 'Cap sur l'Amérique - La dernière utopie de Napoléon' Chateau de Malmaison, France [22/04/2015 - 20/07/2015]
- 'Napoléon et Paris, rêves d'une capitale' Musée Carnavalet, Paris [08/04/2015 - 30/08/2015]
- 'Le congrès de Vienne, l'invention d'une Europe nouvelle' Musée Carnavalet, Paris, France [08/04/2015 - 30/07/2015]
- 'Napoléon-Wellington: Destins Croisés' Wellington Museum, Waterloo, Belgium [21/03/2015 - 31/07/2015]
- Waterloo 1815-2015: Visions of war' Bibliothèque Paul Marmotton, Paris, FR [15/04/2015 - 11/07/2015]
- 'Pie VII face à Napoléon: la Tiare dans les serres de l'Aigle' Fontainebleau, FR [28/03/2015 - 29/06/2015]
- 'Alexander, Napoleon and Josephine: a story of war, art and friendship' Hermitage, Amsterdam, NL [28/03/2015 - 08/11/2015]
- 'Modern Heroism: Printmaking and the legacy of Napoleon Bonaparte' Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge UK [03/02/2015 - 28/06/2015]
Commemorations
- Commemorations of the battle of Albuera in Portugal and Spain [14/05/2015 - 16/05/2015]
- 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 8/5/15)
SEEN ON THE WEB (all external links)
- What were Napoleon's last words?
- Richard E. Grant is to play the Duke of Wellington in a new BBC series detailing his complicated love life
"WATERLOO" > SEEN ON THE WEB (link to our website, updated 8/5/15)
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