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EDITORIAL > HISTORY AND ITS SIDESHOWS
200 years ago this week the Congress of Vienna was wrapping things up. Ten months of serious discussion as well as a fair amount of recreation had come to an end, and the Final Act fixing European international relations for the century to come would be signed by the major European powers with great ceremony. All this, despite the fact that Napoleon was still head of state in France, and it had been other, non-imperial negotiators who had signed that final document. Viewed from this end of the historical telescope, the final showdown with Napoleon becomes almost a sideshow. And yet, our interviewee this week is the curator of a fascinating online exhibition which explores - through a collection of objects and documents rarely seen – the apparent permanence of Napoleon in France during those crucial months that became known as the “Hundred Days”. Here we see the popular attitudes and reactions to Napoleon's unexpected return from exile in Elba and to the situation Europe faced during that time revealed through a new object and new insight each day, thereby providing us with a real-time source of reflection on the intertwined complexities of history. And as the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo approaches, the excitement and agitation surrounding this bicentenary is almost tangible – though not without a certain amount of frivolity and recreation. We are reminded that soldiers were indeed dancing at the Duchess of Richmond's ball in Brussels only days before the final bloody confrontation at Waterloo, in which so many lost their lives. Our painting of the month is Daniel Maclise's "The Meeting of Wellington and Blücher after the battle of Waterloo". Maclise's vision of this victorious moment, painted 35 years later, focuses on the “Belle Alliance”, the handshake between the two men (representing Prussia and Britain) in a mood of weariness, surrounded by the tragedy of war... a moment of reflection.
Enjoy your read here on napoleon.org
Rebecca Young
Web Editor for napoleon.org
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PAINTING OF THE MONTH > THE MEETING OF WELLINGTON AND BLÜCHER AFTER THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO
The rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament in London, after the old one was destroyed in a fire in 1834, was an opportunity for a new decorative scheme designed to honour British military history in a series of wall paintings including two monumental paintings by the Irish-born painter, Daniel Maclise: "The Death of Nelson at Trafalgar" and our Painting of the Month, which commemorated the ending of the battle of Waterloo. Just before sunset on the 18 June 1815, the Prussian Marshal Blücher shook hands with the Duke of Wellington surrounded by the remaining members of their regiments and by the dead and dying, in front of the ruins of the “Belle Alliance” inn…
CERCLE D'ETUDES LECTURE SERIES AT THE FONDATION NAPOLEON
Anne Jouffroy and Hélène Renard will be giving a talk on 23 June at 6pm at the Fondation Napoléon on the subject “Les artistes académiciens illustrent l'Empire”. Inscriptions open on Tuesday 9 June 2015 (more details here in French).
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INTERVIEW > KATHERINE ASBURY > ONLINE EXHIBITION: 100 DAYS IN 100 OBJECTS
In this bicentenary year, The University of Warwick has created a fascinating online exhibition (external link) taking a look at the period between Napoleon's escape from Elba in February 1815 and his final surrender the following July. Each day a historical object (document, drawing, or personal item… lent by a public or private collection) reveals an original viewpoint on the events of the day 200 years ago. We talked to Katherine Astbury, historian and co-curator of the project, about this ongoing 'exhibition' which can be visited from the comfort of your own home!
CONFERENCE > 'POPULAR REACTIONS AND STATE RESPONSES TO THE 100 DAYS'
This conference at the University of Warwick (UK) on 7 July 2015 will look at the popular responses to this sensational period and their influence on post-revolutionary Europe and the world, using sources in literature, the arts, journalism and political commentary.
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EXHIBITION > 'IMMER WIEDER NAPOLEON...!' (NAPOLEON IN FILM) AT THE BOMANN-MUSEUM CELLE (GERMANY)
A second exhibition opens at the Bomann-Museum in Celle, (Germany) presenting film posters and photographs from Michael Großgarten's private collection (until 30 August). Films on Napoleon and the Napoleonic wars range from historical dramas of the early 20th century to romantic comedies in the 1950s - 1980s, and the posters often reference famous paintings. The exhibition will be inaugurated on 7 June 2015 at 11am with an presentation by the curator and a talk on “Waterloo, myth, film and reality”. There will also be a conference on 12-13 June called 'Waterloo Revisited', The museum's other exhibition “Waterloo” (until 11 October 2015) looks at the role of the King's German Legion, the royal Hanoverian army, at the battle of Waterloo, a subject to be further explored at a symposium in September.
CALL FOR PAPERS
The Massena Society seeks scholarly papers on diplomatic, political, and military history topics related to Napoleon and to the French Revolution. 500$ stipends are to be awarded to panel participants for two events in 2016: Consortium on the Revolutionary Era (25-28 February 2016), at the University of Louisiana at Shreveport, and the Society of Military History Symposium, (14-17 April 2016) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The deadline for both is 1st September 2015, contact Marc Gerges.
WATERLOO BICENTENARY IN THE UK
As the Bicentenary fast approaches, Waterloo fever really seems to be taking over especially in the UK, with talks, plays, concerts, re-enactments, exhibitions and even Regency balls. Don't forget to have a look at our Waterloo AGENDA and Seen on the web file on napoleon.org to keep up to date. Below is a selection of some of the events coming up in the next couple of weeks...
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> REGENCY DANCE
Waterloo Week in at Plas Newydd, Anglesea, starts on June 13 with a very special recreation of the Duchess of Richmond's Ball, dubbed at the time the "most famous ball in history" which took place in Brussels the night before the Battle of Quatre Bras. And on 20 June a Grand Waterloo Ball will take place at the Royal College of Surgeons (London). Why not prepare you steps in advance at the Regency dance workshops which are taking place over the next few weeks at Waterloo Station? (all external links)
> THEATRE
On 10 and 11 June there will be two staged readings of Miss Wilson's Waterloo, (external link) a new play by Ellis Jones and Martin Wimbush based on the story of celebrated courtesan Harriette Wilson and the Iron Duke, a man of many conquests - only one of which was the Battle of Waterloo at the Finborough Theatre, London. “A damn'd close-run thing!” is the title of an improbable posthumous encounter between the Emperor Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington staged by members of Petersfield Theatre Group, at Petersfield and Waterlooville, 18-20 June.
> THE WATERLOO FESTIVAL 2015, organised by St John's Waterloo 12-22 June, is entitled ‘The Legacy of War' starting with a live broadcast of Radio 4's ‘Any Questions' on Friday 12th June. The Festival includes includes a film score competition and a Gala Concert with internationally renowned Southbank Sinfonia and Choir of Clare College Cambridge. (external link)
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> MUSIC
The Household Division's Beating Retreat, a spectacular evening pageant of music and military precision drill, including horses, cannon and fireworks, will take place on the 10 and 11 June at Horse guards Parade, London. And young musicians will join the Hanover band for the Beethoven Waterloo Concert at St Pancras Station, London, on 17 June. At Usher Hall, Edinburgh, more than 300 performers will bring to life decisive moments from the Battle of Waterloo in a dramatic musical and theatrical pageant, entitled the "Eve of Waterloo" on 11 June. (external links)
200 YEARS AGO > THE FINAL ACT OF THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA
On 9 June 1815, the major powers of the Congress of Vienna - Austria, Britain, Russia, Prussia, France, Portugal and Sweden - signed the Final Act, written in French. Only Spain balked, contesting some of the articles which it considered had been dictated by the four major powers without negotiation. A grand ceremony was held at the Hofburg, and two days later the Congress was officially closed. The smaller countries would later sign one by one. Whatever the outcome of the approaching conflict with Napoleon Bonaparte, Europe had already made its choices for the next century ...
150 YEARS AGO > FIRST PERFORMANCE OF WAGNER'S TRISTAN AND ISOLDA
On the 10 June 1865, Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde was premiered at the Königliches Hof- und Nationaltheater in Munich. The libretto (by Wagner himself) was based on the Celtic legend of Tristan, of oral tradition, probably first transcribed in Normandy in the twelfth century. The work was also inspired by Wagner's passionate relationship with the poet Mathilde Wesendonck. Widely considered to be Wagner's greatest work and a landmark in the development of Western music, its first performance was not well-received, and it would not be performed again until 1874 (in Weimar).
Wishing you an excellent Napoleonic week!
Peter Hicks and Rebecca Young
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN No. 762, 5 - 11 JUNE, 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 5/6/15)
WATERLOO > SEEN ON THE WEB (updated 5/6/15)
WATERLOO > READING LIST (updated 5/6/15)
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napoleon.org - related content:
PRESS REVIEW
WHAT'S ON (see our website for all events)
Talks
- "Waterloo and its legacy", Conference Centre, The British Library UK [8/6/2015]
- Several Waterloo talks and events at Waterlooville Library (UK) [9-25/06/2015] (external link)
- "Waterloo" by Michael V. Leggiere The Soldiers Sailors Club, New York, USA, June 12, 2015
- Several Napoleonic authors are speaking at the 12th Althorp Literature Festival (UK) [11/06/2015 to 13/06/2015]
- "The Hundred Days: Napoleon's Road from Elba to Waterloo", by Mark Adkin, Army & Navy Club, London [11/06/2015]
- "Waterloo: Four days that changed Europe's destiny", by Tim Clayton, Army and Navy Club, London UK [11/6/2015]
- Art Antiques London Waterloo Lecture Day - Dame Rosalind Savill, Charles, Duke of Wellington and Count Adam Zamoyski London UK [15/06/2015]
- 'The News from Waterloo' and book signing with Brian Cathcart, Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, UK [16/6/2015]
- Family Fun: THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO, retold through a vegetable re-enactement! Apsley house, London [18/06/2015]
- "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]
- 'Repression, reform and new order in the age of revolutions: the consequences of the Vienna Congress for Western Europe' Luxembourg [10/06/2015 - 12/06/2015]
- 'Wateroo 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]
- Endings and Beginnings: The World in 1815, Brussels, Belgium [06/07/2015 - 10/07/2015]
- 'Die Schlacht von Waterloo 1815 und die deutschen Truppen' Bomann-Museum, Celle, Germany [19/09/2015]
Exhibitions
- 'Immer wieder Napoleon...!' (Napoleon in film), Bomann-Museum Celle, Germany [07/06/2015 - 30/08/2015]
- '"Victory Sir, Victory!" Henry Percy and the Battle of Waterloo, 1815', Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, UK [18/05/2015 - 30/10/2015]
- Charging against Napoleon - Wellington's campaigns in the Peninsular Wars and at Waterloo University of Nottingham, UK [22/05/2015 - 06/09/2015]
- 'Waterloo 1815: The Art of Battle' Royal Armouries Museum Leeds, UK [22/05/2015 - 23/08/2015]
- 'Napoléon dans les plaines de Fleurus' Château de la Paix, Fleurus, Belgium [22/05/2015 - 02/08/2015]
- '"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]
- '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
- Major Percy victory route (recreated by bike): The Ride of the Lions, Waterloo 200 [17/06/2015 - 20/06/2015]
Re-enactments
- Battle of Stoney Creek, including talk “Quelle affaire! The Irresistible Allure of the Battle of Waterloo (Canada) [6-7/6/2015] (external link)
- 300 Borders horses and riders for Waterloo re-enactment, Penielheugh, Scotland, [28/6/2015] (external link)
WATERLOO > WHAT'S ON (updated 5/6/15)
SEEN ON THE WEB (all external links)
- The 182nd Durham Regatta celebrates its Waterloo origins, 13 - 14 June 2015
- Napoleonic Wargaming Weekend at Royal Amouries Leeds (UK), 13 and 14 June
"WATERLOO" > SEEN ON THE WEB (link to our website, updated 5/6/15)
THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
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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.
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Contact: napoleonica@napoleon.org
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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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