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We are very sorry for the late delivery of this newsletter - here in Paris, last Friday afternoon, our server started playing hard to get.
But we hope that you will agree that it's better late than never!
EDITORIAL
Every year the Fondation Napoléon awards book prizes, or Grand Prix, for groundbreaking research in the First and Second Empires. Usually we let the book descriptions stand for themselves. This year however we have given the authors a platform from which to talk about their work.
A sort of virtual book presentation!
Here, in a short interview with film historian Hervé Dumont, we bring you the full story of the thousand or so films, series, and television features on Napoleon I since the beginning of cinema. It is a story of the contemporary political dimension in Europe ever-present in portrayals of the little corporal on the big screen.
And then, in another interview (with historian Franck Favier), one that almost pricks the bubble of the great man view of history, there is the figure of Louis-Alexandre Berthier. Robin to Napoleon's Batman! But this eternal side-kick, we learn, had had an eminent military career before being swallowed up and spat out by the Bonaparte behemoth.
And finally, in the last interview (with art historian, Viviane Delpech), there is another man of distinction, Antoine d'Abbadie. Independently wealthy, a restless academic adventurer who ploughed his fortune into an extraordinary folly, the château d'Abaddia, expressive of all the contradictions of the Second Empire – Religion versus Progress; a yearning for an earlier (in this case mediaeval, feudal) Golden Age versus modern domestic amenities; nature unbound versus nature firmly tamed…
Grand themes in this week's bulletin and on the site. Enjoy!
Peter Hicks
Historian and Director of International Relations at the Fondation Napoléon
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BOOKS OF THE MONTH > 2015 HISTORY PRIZES
This month we have not just one but THREE books for you, all winners of the Fondation Napoléon's History Prizes this year:
Franck FAVIER, Berthier, l'ombre de Napoléon
Viviane DELPECH, Abbadia, le monument idéal d'Antoine Abbadie
Hervé DUMONT, Napoléon. L'épopée en 1 000 films
> INTERVIEWS WITH THE AUTHORS
And as a bonus, here are three exciting interviews (translated into English) with the winners of the Fondation Napoléon's 2015 History Prizes:
First Empire Prize-winner Franck Favier sheds light on the little-known private life of Marshal Berthier, eighteen years in Napoleon's shadow.
Second Empire prize-winner, Viviane Delpech gives us Abbadia, a monument to the Second Empire.
And Jury Prize-winner, Hervé Dumont, the author of the monumental encyclopaedic work Napoleon the epic in a thousand films talks about cinema's fascination for the Emperor.
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SPECIAL CARICATURES
EXHIBITION > HIGH SPIRITS: THE COMIC ART OF THOMAS ROWLANDSON, (THE QUEEN'S GALLERY, BUCKINGHAM PALACE)
This exhibition brings together comic works from the Royal Collection by Thomas Rowlandson, one of the leading caricaturists of Georgian England, and examines life at the turn of the 19th century through the caricaturist's sharp eye and appreciation of humour in everyday life.
ONLINE > For those who cannot make it to London for the show it is possible to see an online version of the exhibition.
CATALOGUE > The informative 272-page catalogue by Kate Heard is available at the bargain price of £9.99.
VIDEO > And last but not least there is a delightful introduction to the main protagonists of the exhibition - including Napoleon, of course! – in this animation of Rowlandson's drawings (external link) narrated by the actor Brian Blessed... Enjoy!
RECENT BOOKS ON VISUAL SATIRE
John Richard Moores's recent book, Representations of France in English Satirical Prints 1740-1832 is reviewed here by Dr James Baker (University of Sussex).
Napoleone in caricatura is the catalogue of the exhibition (external link in Italian) that took place earlier this year at the Museo Glauco Lombardi in Parma, Italy, with very high quality illustrations and extensive texts by Francesca Sandrini and Mariachirara Bianchi.
And don't forget our own special dossier on Anti-Napoleon caricatures.
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IN THE NEWS > NAPOLEON IN ITALY
> EXHIBITION “TERRA DI CONQUISTA E DI MISTERO: ECHI DELL'EGITTO NAPOLEONICO A BOLOGNA”
The Civic Museum of the Risorgimento in Bologna is hosting the exhibition "Land of conquest and mystery: Napoleonic Egypt in Bologna" (external link in Italian) from 28 November 2015 to 16 January 2016, in conjunction with the exhibition "Egypt: Millennial glory", taking place simultaneously at the Archaeological Museum.
> EXHIBITION “Da Castelfiorentino a Waterloo (1815-2015)”
This exhibition which runs until 13 December at the Oratorio di San Carlo, Castelfiorentino, Firenze, Italy, looks at the impact in the region of the revolutionary wars and the French Empire from 1792 to 1815. There will also be a conference by Professor Andrea Addobbati at the Museum Benozzo Gozzoli on Saturday 5 December at 5pm.
> THE URANIA CLOCK RETURNS TO ROME'S MUSEO NAPOLEONICO
The famous Urania clock whose history is inextricably linked to that of the Bonapartes has returned to the Museo Napoleonico in Rome after being restored. Find out more in this article (external link in Italian).
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NAPOLEON'S OTHER WIFE: EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE
Marie-Louise, Napoleon's second wife has received much less attention than Josephine in popular myth, and indeed in the history books, despite being the one who produced the son an heir that Napoleon longed for. Deborah Jay has just written a book dedicated to her: Napoleon's Other Wife: The story of Marie-Louise, Duchess of Parma, the lesser-known wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. Jay has also written this article on Marie-Louise for History Extra.
We also came across this recent article (external link in Italian) about the court Cuisine of Marie Louise of Habsburg (former french Empress) 1815-1847, by Mario Zannoni.
Don't forget, we also have a fine digital bibliography about Empress Marie-Louise on our website, including biographies, correspondence, testimonies, poems, pamphlets and portraits.
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NEW > DIGITAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE ROI DE ROME
The Fondation Napoleon has just produced this new Digital Bibliography of Napoleon's only (legitimate) child and heir, son of Marie-Louise, otherwise known as the "Roi de Rome". It includes biographies, poems, caricatures, and covers aspects of his life including his birth, baptism, childhood, his life in Austria, as the Duke of Reichstadt, as well as his death, the Centenary and the disposition of his remains.
LAST CHANCE TO SEE THE EXHIBITION Le bivouac de Napoléon, luxe et ingéniosité en campagne at the Mobilier National in Paris. Have a look at some of the items on show in our exclusive photo album on our Facebook page Fondation Napoléon in English!
Wishing you an excellent Napoleonic week!
Peter Hicks and Rebecca Young (with Tiara Ataii)
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN No. 781, 4-10 December, 2015
Interested in the work of the Fondation Napoléon? Why not participate, either generally or towards a specific project, by making a donation?
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napoleon.org - related content:
WHATS ON (see our website for all events)
JUST PUBLISHED
- JAY, Deborah, Napoleon's Other Wife: The story of Marie-Louise, Duchess of Parma, the lesser-known wife of Napoleon Bonaparte (2015, London)
- MOORES, John Richard, Representations of France in English Satirical Prints 1740-1832 (2015, London)
Exhibitions
- Land of conquest and mystery: Napoleonic Egypt in Bologna, Civic Museum of the Risorgimento in Bologna, Italy [28/11/2015 - 16/01/2016] NEW
- Da Castelfiorentino a Waterloo, Castelfiorentino, Firenze, Italy [28/11/2015 - 13/12/2015] LAST DAYS
- Le secret de l'État. Surveiller, protéger, informer. XVIIe-XXe siècle, Archives Nationales, Paris [04/11/2015 - 28/02/2016]
- Visages de l'effroi : violence et fantastique de David à Delacroix, Musée de la Vie Romantique, Paris, FR [03/11/2015 - 28/02/2016]
- Da Napoleone a Murat: l'inizio del Risorgimento italiano, Forlimpopoli, Italy [01/11/2015 - 06/12/2015] LAST DAYS
- 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]
- 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] LAST DAYS
- Daniel Maclise: The Waterloo Cartoon, Royal Academy of Arts, UK [02/09/2015 - 03/01/2016]
- 'Waterloo and the March of Science', Herschel Museum of Astronomy, Bath, UK [18/06/2015 - 13/12/2015] 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]
Re-enactment
210th anniversary of the Battle of Austerlitz Brno, Czech Republic [5/12/2015]
SEEN ON THE WEB
- Rethinking Napoleon's Roots
- Napoleon's Mourning cross
- A new video game Wars of Napoleon is released
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
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