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THIS MONTH'S OBJECT
Revolutionary period skeleton clock
Many skeleton clocks were made during the last years of the 18th century. That here, with enamel decoration by Joseph Coteau (1740-1801), is notable for its two dials indicating the time, day, month, moon phase for the new chronometry imposed by the Republican calendar.
200 YEARS AGO
1 Frimaire, An XIII (22 November, 1804), Napoleon and his court went to Fontainebleau to await the arrival of the Pope, Pius VII. The Grand Maréchal du Palais, Duroc, had his first organisational test, having to prepare "40 master apartments, 200 lodgings for entourage and stables for 400 mounts" in two weeks. The Emperor's 'Premier Architecte', Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (1762-1852) notes in his journal: "The apartments were furnished almost by magic". Journal 1799-1853, Paris, 1987, tome 1, p. 91.
4 Frimaire, An XIII (25 November, 1804), Pius VII arrived in Fontainebleau. The architect Fontaine recounted in his journal Napoleon's first meeting with the Pope: "The emperor in his hunting clothes happened to be in the forest at Fontainebleau on the road when the Pope came through. The two sovereigns embraced each other, and then the emperor accompanied His Holiness to the château in his carriage, give him the right-hand side. Their arrival was announced by cannon blasts and cheering locals and townspeople who had come in large numbers."
In his Mémoires, Savary (police chief during the Empire period) adds further details... "In order to avoid all forms of ceremonial, a hunting trip was used as a pretext for being there; the hunt and their teams were in the forest. the emperor arrived on horseback wearing his riding clothes and accomapanied by his entourage. It was at the semi-circle at the top of the bank where they met. The Pope's carriage stopped; he got out of the door on the left dressed in his white robes; it was muddy and he did not dare put his white-silk-clad foot on the ground; but he wasn't going to get out of doing it. Napoleon alighted to receive him. They embraced, and the emperor's carriage, which they had advanced on purpose, was brought even closer, almost as if without the coachmen noticing; but men had been posted to keep the two doors open; just before climbing in, the emperor took the right-hand side, and a court officer nearby indicated to the Pope the left-hand side, such that they entered the same carriage at the time through the two doors. The emperor natuarlly sat on the right[contrary to what Fontaine wrote above! ed.], and this first step established the etiquette, without negotiations, for the whole duration of the Pope's stay in Paris." Mémoires du duc de Rovigo, Paris, 1829, tome 2, p. 111-112.
Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic, week!
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
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THIS WEEK:
Snippets
- A Napoleon museum in Moscow?
What's on
- Exhibition: James Gillray, New York Public Library, USA
- Exhibition: Decoration in the Age of Napoleon: Empire Elegance Versus Regency Refinement, New York Public Library, USA
- Re-enactment: The Battle of the Three Emperors 2004 - Battle of Austerlitz, Czech Republic
Exhibition: The Treasures of the Fondation Napoléon, Paris, France
- Study Day: Napoleon and Rome
- Exhibition: Images of the coronation of the Emperor Napoleon
The monthly titles
- This month's book: The Russian Officer Corps of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 1792-1815, by Alexander Mikaberidze
- This month's painting: Fair by a river, by Jean-Louis Demarne
- This month's article: Beethoven, Byron, and Bonaparte - part 2, by John Clubbe
- In the Collectors Corner, Revolutionary period skeleton clock
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