| |
| |
HISTORY AS WE LIKE IT TO BE
This year, the Fondation Napoléon History Prizes reward serious, hard research, intelligent commentary and beautiful creation.
Already noted for his biography of Bernadotte (Ellipses, 2010), the historian Franck Favier has this time lifted the veil on a personality inextricably linked to Napoleon, the Maréchal Berthier, a man who lived in the shadows but who expressed his talents by his determined efficiency in the service of the Emperor.
From the shadows, it is only a small step into the blaze of the limelight. The historian of cinema, Hervé Dumont has explored more than a century of international cinema in order to produce a vast, breathtaking kaleidoscope of more than a thousand films and documentaries. His book bears witness to the interest or indeed passion of producers, directors and actors for the man that was Napoleon and the epic which was his reign. In a magnificent edition, this colossal work is a collection of detailed analyses of films and documentaries, illustrated by over 900 images (posters and photographs).
The remarkable and passionate book by Viviane Delpech is in fact a double biography: firstly that of a château comprising a blend of styles situated on a wild outcrop of the Basque country (near Hendaye), and that of its patron, the proprietor and explorer, Antoine d'Abbadie, who commissioned Eugène Viollet-le-Duc as architect for this project. The text is beautifully supported by Alban Gilbert's photographs, which together pay homage to this little-known masterpiece by Viollet-le-Duc.
Irène Delage
Head of documentation and services to the public
|
|
|
| |
FONDATION NAPOLEON HISTORY PRIZES 2015
On 9 November, 2015, the Fondation Napoléon Grand Prix Jury selected the following winners:
> First Empire Prize
Franck FAVIER, Berthier, l'ombre de Napoléon, Paris, Editions Perrin
Berthier is perhaps the most mysterious of Napoleon's Marshals. A new biography of him was a long time in coming: here it is, thanks to Franck Favier.
> Second Empire Prize
Viviane DELPECH, Abbadia, le monument idéal d'Antoine Abbadie, Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes
Viviane Delpech's monumental book is the fruit of her doctoral research (which won a Fondation Napoléon study grant) about the magnificent Second-Empire château of Abbadia.
> Jury Prize
Hervé DUMONT, Napoléon. L'épopée en 1000 films, Lausanne, Ides et Calendes
The most comprehensive publication on the cinematic representations of Napoleon to date, Hervé Dumont's massive tome was an obvious winner of the Jury Prize of the Fondation Napoléon.
Full details of all the prize-winning books here.
Next week we will be announcing the recipients of this year's Study Grants…
|
|
|
| |
PAINTING OF THE MONTH > CAROLINE BONAPARTE BY VIGÉE-LEBRUN
In 1807, Caroline Murat was not yet a Queen but she had all the qualities of one, as we can see in this portrait by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun. The talent of this young painter, who had been the official portraitist of Marie-Antoinette, undeniably contributes to this regal image, despite the fact that the two young women did not get on well during the sitting and indeed this turned out to be the only portrait that Vigée Le Brun would agree to make for the Bonaparte family. The painting can be seen until 11 January 2016 at the Grand Palais (Paris, France) as part of the monographic exhibition Élisabeth Louise Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842).
|
|
|
| |
SPECIAL > NAPOLEON ON FILM
> INTERVIEW WITH HERVÉ DUMONT: “NAPOLEON: THE SAGA IN 1,000 FILMS”
Hervé Dumont, is the author of Napoléon. l'épopée en 1 000 films, which has just been awarded the Fondation Napoléon's 2015 Jury Prize. He was recently interviewed by Irene Delage, for the Fondation Napoleon regarding this seminal publication. You can now read that interview here in English translation.
And as we leave behind our St Helena month, what better moment to have another look at two movies each of which explored the hypothesis that Napoleon escaped his final prison island for a new life elsewhere? Peter Hicks compares Alan Taylor's 2001 film “The Emperor's New Clothes” with the book upon which it was loosely based – “The Death of Napoleon” by Simon Leys - (recently translated into English) and Irène Delage reviews “Monsieur N” (2003) by Antoine de Caunes. (which is available on DVD with English subtitles).
|
|
|
| |
RESTORING ABEL GANCE'S NAPOLEON
As you may know , one of Hervé Dumont's “must see” Napoleon films, Abel Gance's Napoleon, is undergoing a new restoration due to be released in 2017 (see the press release from the Cinématheque Française, Paris: The expert appraisal of a collection by Joël Daire, Directeur délégué du Patrimoine). In this recent interview, Georges Mourier, restoration expert, who is piloting the project, talks to Paolo Cherchi Usai, resident curator at the Telluride film festival, Collorado. (both external links).
And don't forget our First Empire Napoleonic Filmography in which you can find plenty of other Napoleon films to read about!
SYMPOSIUM > RUEIL VILLE IMPÉRIALE
The fourth "Rueil Ville impériale" symposium will discuss the the Royal courts of the First and Second Empires and will take place on 21 November at Rueil-Malmaison, (Paris region) from 9am to 7pm. Chaired by Jacques-Olivier Boudon, the speakers at the symposium will include Eric Anceau, Pierre Branda, Bernard Chevallier, Vincent Haegele, Xavier Mauduit, Natalie Petiteau, Olivier Varlan, Charles-Eloi Vial and Laetitia de Witt. More information here (external link in French).
|
|
|
| |
EXHIBITION > VISAGES DE L'EFFROI : VIOLENCE ET FANTASTIQUE DE DAVID A DELACROIX
The beautiful Musée de la Vie Romantique, in Paris's 9th arrondissement is currently presenting an exhibition which focuses on the theme of Violence and Fantasy in the works of artists such as David to Delacroix. Including works by Gericault as well as Ingres, this particular trend in nineteenth-century art was directly inspired by the horrors of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars.
The museum which celebrates “Romantic Life” of the 19th century is situated in the Hotel Renan-Scheffer, previously the atelier of Ary Scheffer who painted a scene at St Helena of Napoleon dictating his memoirs to Las Cases.
Wishing you an excellent Napoleonic week!
Peter Hicks and Rebecca Young (with Tiara Ataii)
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN No. 778, 13-19 November, 2015
Interested in the work of the Fondation Napoléon? Why not participate, either generally or towards a specific project, by making a donation?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Follow us on our new English-language Facebook page and on Twitter!
napoleon.org - related content:
WHATS ON (see our website for all events)
Conferences
- Waterloo, 1815: The British Monarchy and the Defeat of Napoleon Windsor, UK [14/11/2015]
Exhibitions
- Visages de l'effroi : violence et fantastique de David à Delacroix, Musée de la Vie Romantique, Paris, FR [03/11/2015 - 28/02/2016] NEW
- Da Napoleone a Murat: l'inizio del Risorgimento italiano, Forlimpopoli, Italy [01/11/2015 - 06/12/2015] - Sir Hussey Vivian, From Waterloo to Westminster Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, UK [13/06/2015 - 02/01/2016]
- Napoléon (1769-1821), sa vie à travers les femmes Tourist Centre of Wool and Fashion, Verviers, Belgium [10/10/2015 - 28/02/2016]
- From Waterloo to New Jersey: The Bicentennial of King Joseph Bonaparte's Escape to America Pennington School in Pennington, N.J. [17/10/2015 - 20/11/2015] LAST DAYS
- Belloir et Vazelle, tapissiers décorateurs du Second Empire Jane Roberts Fine Arts, Paris, France [14/10/2015 - 14/11/2015] LAST DAYS
- Splendeurs et misères. Images de la prostitution, 1850-1910 (Splendour and Misery. Pictures of Prostitution) Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France [22/09/2015 - 17/01/2016]
- Élisabeth Louise Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842) Grand Palais, Paris, France [23/09/2015 - 11/01/2016]
- Le Bivouac de Napoléon : luxe et ingéniosité en campagne Galerie des Gobelins, Paris [18/09/2015 - 13/12/2015]
- Daniel Maclise: The Waterloo Cartoon Royal Academy of Arts, UK [02/09/2015 - 03/01/2016]
- Pierre-Paul Prud'hon: Napoleon's Draughtsman Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, UK [23/06/2015 - 15/11/2015] LAST DAYS
- 'Waterloo and the March of Science' Herschel Museum of Astronomy, Bath, UK [18/06/2015 - 13/12/2015]
- 'The Road to Waterloo' and ‘Waterloo Lives' Gordon Highlanders Museum, Aberdeen, Scotland [03/02/2015 - 28/11/2015] LAST DAYS
- 'Waterloo 1815 - The Battle for Peace' at Wellington Arch and new display at Apsley House London UK [18/04/2015 - 30/12/2015]
SEEN ON THE WEB
- Commemoration of the Battle of Waterloo awarded the 2015 Oscar of Events
- Forgotten poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley expresses his outrage at the government, the Napoleonic war and the state of poverty in Britain among other things
- Earliest Battle of Waterloo images secured for the nation by British Museum
- Was Napoleon superstitious?
- Humanities without humanity
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
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
The Fondation Napoléon's Institutional website:
www.fondationnapoleon.org
ACCOUNT DETAILS
To change your email address, unsubscribe, and sign up for the French information bulletin.
Problems with a link in this letter?
- Check the homepage on: http://www.napoleon.org/en/home.asp
- View back numbers of the bulletin: http://www.napoleon.org/en/space/information_bulletin/archive_lettre.asp
- Contact us: information@napoleon.org
|
|
