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THIS MONTH'S PAINTING
Costume Ball at the Tuileries Palace, by Carpeaux
During the Exposition universelle of 1867, an whole series of fêtes and balls took place at the Imperial court. And for the occasion, the sculptor Carpeaux laid down his chisel and revealed his talents as an artist of remarkable small paintings.
NAPOLEON THE EUROPEAN
The December number of the French magazine L'Histoire published the results of its survey taken during a UNESCO conference held in March 2003. Six countries were involved: Germany, Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy and Poland. The deduction to be made, according to the magazine, is that "Europe needs great men". The commentator of the survey noted what he called (for it is important to remain "politically correct") "the enigmatic success of Napoleon" which, our commentator adds, "gives a good example of the complexity of European memory". He is surprised that Napoleon should come in in sixth position as the preferred "great man" of the all Europeans polled. The top three (in this order) were Churchill, Marie Curie and De Gaulle (Th.L.).
CHRISTMAS CLOSURE OF THE BIBLIOTHEQUE M. LAPEYRE-FONDATION NAPOLEON
Change of opening times: Tuesday 23 December, the library will be open from 1-6pm (instead of 4-9pm). Thereafter the library will be closed for the Christmas holidays, reopening on Monday 5 January, 2004.
Naturally, the catalogue will be accessible for the whole of this period on the site.
200 YEARS AGO
9 Frimaire, An XII (1 December, 1803), the 'livret ouvrier' or worker's book was brought back in. This system had been created in 1781 whereby a manual worker's whole career would be recorded in his 'book', including the name of the job, the dates and duration, and most importantly, the employer's opinion as to the quality of the man's work.
Deeply smitten by the young Elisabeth Patterson, the daughter of a rich Baltimore merchant, Jerome Bonaparte intended to marry her on 16 Frimaire, An XII (8 December, 1803). However the Commissioner General for Commercial Relations with the United States, Pichon, anticipating the First Consul's anger, recommended to the young man (at 20 years old still technically a minor) that he first get his brother's approval.
Louis-André Pichon (1771-1854), diplomat, had been sent by Bonaparte to Philadelphia as Commissioner General for Commercial Relations. Unable to stop Jerome marriage to Elisabeth Patterson, Pichon was to be called back to France in September 1804, officially for financial malpractice. He was appointed a Conseiller d'Etat by Jerome when the latter was made King of Westphalia, becoming Jerome's Intendant Général of finances until his resignation in 1812.
Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic, week!
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
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THIS WEEK:
Snippets
No British army plaque at Badajoz
What's on
- Radio: Trafalgar
- Exhibition: Elisa's Days: the public and private life of a princess, Lucca (Italy)
- Exhibition: Art booty in the Napoleonic period. The "French gift" to Mainz, 1803
Web sites
Austrian History Bibliography site
Go to the Napoleonic Directory, then select 'Databases' in the web site scrollbar menu
Recently published books
Reform! The fight for the 1832 Reform Act, by Edward Pearce
The monthly titles
- This month's book: Napoleonic Europe, by Cliver Emsley
- This month's painting: Costume Ball at the Tuileries Palace, by Carpeaux
- This month's article: The History of Lord Seaton's Regiment, (The 52nd Light Infantry) at the Battle of Waterloo, Chapter Four, by William Leake
- In the Collectors Corner, a leaf from Napoleon's coronation crown
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