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HISTORY LEAVES TRACES IN UNUSUAL PLACES
Last week the Royal Academy in London opened a new exhibition centred on a monumental drawing by Daniel Maclise, the so-called “Waterloo Cartoon” a work which by its sheer scale reminds us of the significance of the battle of Waterloo for the British nation nearly 50 years later. The Napoleonic wars impacted the British population in so many ways even as far as influencing artists, and the art market, as an article by RA Curator Annette Wickham explains.
The recent exhibition “Bonaparte and the British” at the British Museum, explored the way the figure of “Boney” was constructed into a terrifying yet fascinating character, through paintings and caricatures, and judging by the number of recorded visitors to the exhibition (over 320,000!) we can safely assume that Napoleon still fascinates the British today!
And as Europe celebrates its patrimonial heritage this weekend, we decided to have a look at how the Napoleonic wars also left architectural traces all over Britain in the form of fortresses, prisons, Martello Towers, (constructed to defend Britain from the feared invasion by Napoleon) many of which still stand today, and you can discover this weekend. And for those of you who won't be in the south of England, you can even explore a 3D Martello Tower online from the comfort of your own home!
Rebecca Young
Web Editor for napoleon.org
THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
Please note that the Fondation Napoléon and its library in Paris will be closed exceptionally in the afternoon of Friday 25th September, from midday.
OBITUARY – FRANCESCO DELL'ORSO 3 MARCH 1953 - 17 MAY 2015
It is with deep sadness and a real sense of loss that we learned this week of the death of one of the first librarians of the Fondation Napoléon, Francesco dell'Orso. A renowned librarian in Italy and one of the pioneers in the adoption of digital systems for book cataloguing, he joined the Fondation team in 2000. His arrangement of the collection of books and his establishment of the system of cataloguing is still the one we use today, and in this way his presence lives on in the library. We send our deepest sympathy to his widow Odile Martinez. (Full details here in Italian).
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PAINTING OF THE MONTH > MURAT ON HORSEBACK BY ANTOINE-JEAN GROS
Gros painted this portrait of Napoelon I's brother-in-law in 1811, and the following year it was shown at the Salon. Murat, who at the time had been King of Rome for three years, is shown at the height of his career: the painting reminds us of his military exploits as well as his royal attributes.
BICENTENARY OF THE DEATH OF MURAT
IN FRANCE … This weekend the town of Labastide-Murat (France) and Les Amis du Musée Murat (external link) are commemorating 200 years since the death of Joachim Murat, the King of Naples, the brother-in-law Napoleon I, with two days of events (12 - 13 September, a month earlier than the actual date of his death). Programme (in French).
AND IN ITALY ….
> Exhibition in Naples. The exhibition Murat re di Napoli: A passo di carica (“Murat, King of Naples, at the charge!”) continues at the Palazzo Reale in Naples until 19 October, a chance to see a chamberlain's key from the Fondation Napoléon's collection.
> Murat in Calabre. The Joachim Murat Cultural Association is organising several events in Pizzo (9 - 13 October) in honour of the King of Naples: a dinner, talks, re-enactements (including one of the arrest and execution of Joachim Murat) a craft market, mass and a concert ... Full programme (external link in Italian).
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EXHIBITION > DANIEL MACLISE: THE WATERLOO CARTOON AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS (UK)
Daniel Maclise's monumental preparatory drawing (over 13 metres wide) for a water-glass wall painting "The Meeting of Wellington and Blücher after the Battle of Waterloo" (1861) at the London Houses of Parliament has been recently restored thanks to an Arts Council grant after having languished for decades in storage. It is now being exhibited to the public at the Royal Academy until 3 January 2016. For those unable to make it to London to see the original, you can even explore aspects of the conservation, history and iconography of the Waterloo Cartoon in detail thanks to an interactive tool on the RA website(external link).
TALK > The curator of Works on Paper at the RA, Annette Wickham, will explore the story behind this epic drawing by Daniel Maclise and consider why such a remarkable work has been hidden from public view for almost a century. (Monday 14th September at 1 pm, booking essential).
LAST DAYS > WATERLOO, WELLINGTON AND WESTMINSTER
The painting for which this cartoon was the full-scale study - "The Meeting of Wellington and Blücher after the Battle of Waterloo" (see our painting of the month for July 2015) is also the focus of a special exhibition at the Royal Gallery of the Palace of Westminster (London, UK) Waterloo, Wellington and Westminster until 24 September. (please note: the painting - and the exhibition - can only be seen as part of a booked tour of the Houses of Parliament).
ARTICLE > SIX WAYS THE NAPOLEONIC WARS CHANGED BRITISH ART
Annette Wickham, curator at the RA, explores the impact that nearly two decades of European conflict had on the British arts scene (external link).
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EUROPEAN HERITAGE DAYS 2015, SEPTEMBER 2015
This weekend (11-13 September) historical monuments across Europe are opening free to the public, for the European Heritage Days, France will be holding its "Journées du Patrimoine" the following weekend (19-20 September) and many Napoleonic sites will of course be participating. Over 30 countries are organising special events, including Germany, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.
SPECIAL > NAPOLEONIC HERITAGE IN BRITAIN
In Britain this weekend (11-13 September) several historical sites linked to the Napoleonic wars will be participating in the "European Heritage Days", including two Martello Towers in East Sussex (Wish Tower and Seaford Tower), the site of the Norman Cross Prison (a Napoleonic War Prison in use from 1797 until 1814) as well as several redouts: the Redoubt Fortress & Military Museum, East Sussex (pictured above, photo © Lyndsay Knight) and the Redoubt Fort, Harwich, Essex, and there will be a guided walk around three of the seven Napoleonic Redoubts in Swinley Forest (Crowthorne, Berkshire). Please check each link for exact dates and times.
And on 19 and 20 September there will be a Napoleonic Association Weekend at Fort Amherst, Kent (UK).
EXHIBITION > NAPOLEON ON ST HELENA (11 - 13 September 2015)
As part of the Heritage Days, Brock Keep (Reading, Berkshire, UK) will be holding an exhibition this weekend exploring the imprisonment of Napoleon on the island of St Helena where he was guarded by soldiers of the 66th Berkshire Regiment. The exhibition will include art, and historical artefacts as well as prints of St Helena in 1821 showing Napoleon's house, kindly lent by the Wardrobe Museum, Salisbury.
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FOCUS ON > MARTELLO TOWERS OF GREAT BRITAIN
Inspired by a famous round fortified tower at Mortella (Myrtle) Point on the island of Corsica, that had resisted attack thanks to its intelligent design, the Martello Towers were built across the British Empire during the 19th century and in particular during the Napoleonic Wars between 1805 and 1808 to defend the South coast of Britain. They were typically around 40 feet (12 m) high with walls about 8 feet (2.4 m) thick. Find out more about what became of the 103 towers originally built accross the British Isles in this article. (external link)
ONLINE > EXPLORE A VIRTUAL MARTELLO TOWER RE-CREATED USING STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY
Newcastle-based virtual reality specialists Digital VR have helped bring the history of Suffolk coastal defenses to life using gaming technology to create a 3D model of a historic Martello Tower, enabling anyone anywhere in the world to see what the inside of the structures would have been like and how they were used, both when first built and later during World War II. The model is a composite based on laser scans of two of the Suffolk Martello Towers. (both external links)
Wishing you an excellent Napoleonic week!
Peter Hicks and Rebecca Young
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN No. 769, 11 - 16 SEPTEMBER, 2015
Interested in the work of the Fondation Napoléon? Why not participate, either generally or in a specific project, by making a donation?
© 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 ...
Follow us on our new English-language Facebook page and on Twitter!
napoleon.org - related content:
WHAT'S ON (see our website for all events)
Talks
- An Introduction to ‘Daniel Maclise: The Waterloo Cartoon' by Annette Wickham, Royal Academy, London, UK [14/09/2015]
Conferences
- 'Die Schlacht von Waterloo 1815 und die deutschen Truppen' Bomann-Museum, Celle, Germany [19/09/2015]
- Waterloo, 1815: The British Monarchy and the Defeat of Napoleon Windsor, UK [14/11/2015]
Exhibitions
- Le Bivouac de Napoléon : luxe et ingéniosité en campagne Galerie des Gobelins, Paris [18/09/2015 - 13/12/2015] NEW
- Daniel Maclise: The Waterloo Cartoon Royal Academy of Arts (UK) [02/09/2015 - 03/01/2016] NEW
- Murat, King of Naples, at the charge! Palazzo Reale, Naples, Italy [19/05/2015 - 19/10/2015]
- Dancing into Battle: The Duchess of Richmond's Ball, Goodwood House, Sussex (UK) [03/08/2015 - 11/10/2015]
- Remembering Napoleon Bonaparte, University of Delaware Library, Newark, USA [03/08/2015 - 02/10/2015] NEW
- Switzerland reshaped. From Napoleon to the Congress of Vienna Musée National Suisse in Prangins, Nyon, Switzerland [13/03/2015 - 13/09/2015] LAST DAYS
- Fallen Emperor: Napoleon in Plymouth Sound in 1815, Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, UK [23/05/2015 - 26/09/2015] LAST DAYS
- Pierre-Paul Prud'hon: Napoleon's Draughtsman Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, UK [23/06/2015 - 15/11/2015]
- 'La beauté de la guerre. Waterloo 1815-2015' Bibliothèque Royale, Brussels, Belgium [17/06/2015 - 15/09/2015] LAST DAYS
- 'Waterloo and the March of Science', Herschel Museum of Astronomy, Bath, UK [18/06/2015 - 13/12/2015]
- '"Victory Sir, Victory!" Henry Percy and the Battle of Waterloo, 1815', Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, UK [18/05/2015 - 30/10/2015]
- '"A damned serious business": Waterloo 1815, the battle and its books' Cambridge University Library, UK, and online [01/05/2015 - 16/09/2015] LAST DAYS
- '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]
- 'Waterloo 1815 - The Battle for Peace' at Wellington Arch and new display at Apsley House London UK [18/04/2015 - 30/12/2015]
'Alexander, Napoleon and Josephine: a story of war, art and friendship' Hermitage, Amsterdam, The Netherlands [28/03/2015 - 08/11/2015]
- Waterloo, Wellington and Westminster Royal Gallery, Houses of Parliament, London, UK [18/06/2015 - 24/09/2015] LAST DAYS
Festival
- Jane Austin Festival, Bath UK [11-20/09/2015]
SEEN ON THE WEB
- Waterloo in Fiction: A Tale of Two Sharp(e)s
- Napoleon III and The 1855 Classification of Bordeaux
- The Bonaparte Bubble: As the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo passes, so may the red-hot market for his memorabilia
- Early portrait of Queen Victoria on show for the first time
- Wordsworth the War Poet emerges from the Napoleonic war clouds in Wordsworth, War and Waterloo in Grasmere
- Remote Atlantic runway to open up Napoleon's hidden island
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, and will close exceptionally from midday on Friday 25th September.
Online database catalogue
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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
The Fondation Napoléon's Institutional website:
www.fondationnapoleon.org
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