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OBITUARY
The Napoleonic world mourns General Robert Boulé, who died at the age of 79 on 4 February. Commander of the Légion d'honneur, Grand Officier in the Ordre national du Mérite, Croix de Geurre and Croix de la Valeur militaire, he was Vice-president of the Souvenir Napoléonien.
To his family and friends, our sincere condolences.
THIS MONTH'S PAINTING
Allegorical drawing to the glory of H. M. the Emperor, by Innocent-Louis Goubaud
It was at the Salon of 1810 that Goubaud first made his name, with a painting entitled, A deputation from the Roman Senate offering its homage to H. M. the Emperor and King, a work purchased by the government and which today hangs in the museum at the Château de Versailles. He was to present four drawings at the Salon of 1812: a scene from the baptism of the Roi de Rome (Goubaud had been appointed his drawing master), a portrait of the child, and two pencil portraits of the imperial couple, of which the drawing here was one.
SUCCES OBLIGE...
The exhibition of 'The Treasures of the Fondation Napoléon' has been so successful that the Jacquemart-André Museum hosting the show has decided to prolong the it until 24 April 2005.
200 YEARS AGO
The Journal des Débats of 28 Pluviôse, An XIII (17 February, 1805) announced the opening of a new room in the Café Frascati, a particularly 'hot' address of the moment where folk would meet to drink a coffee, have an ice-cream, play chess or trictrac (a game rather like backgammon, for the rules click here). The new room was large enough for two thousand people and in it balls could be held and 'spectacles' of different sorts in winter. It was lit by twenty-six chandeliers, eight large and eighteen medium, and the ceiling was painted to represent a starry sky. Antique-style statues, in gilt bronze, and many flower vases stood all around. The entrance gallery was bordered along its whole length by boxed myrtles and orange trees.
The Café Frascati stood on the Boulevard Montmartre, giving onto the Passage des Panoramas built in 1800, on the site where the Hôtel de Montmorency-Luxembourg once was. This passage owed its name to the two glass-ceilinged rotondas or Panoramas (a kind of proto-cinema) containing perspective scenes and the Panorama de Naples, which in 1806, gave viewers the impression of "being on an elevated spot dominating the town, which stretched from your feet to the seaside, offering an infinite variety of views".*
Though largely altered in the 1830s, the Passage des Panoramas still exists, between the Boulevard and the Rue Montmartre. Here there is also the back stage entrance for the Théâtre des Variétés, itself built in 1807, and many boutiques, some of whose shops fronts date from the middle of the 19th century.
To recreate the atmosphere of the Café Frascati, why not have a go at making your own Gâteau Frascati
*Berkheim, Lettres sur Paris 1806-1807, cited by A. Fierro in La vie des Parisiens sous Napoléon, Napoléon Ier Editions, 2003.
150 YEARS AGO
On 13 February, 1855, was born Paul Deschanel, future president during the Third Republic.
For a brief biography of this click here.
Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic, week!
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
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© 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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THIS WEEK
Press Review
'The History Park of the Battle of Tolentino', online article from the Centre for Napoleonic Studies, Alessandria, Italy
What's on
- For Napoleonic and Nelsonian 2005 bicentenaries, watch our 2005 bicentenaries page
- The man who crowned Napoleon: Cardinal Caprara and his liturgical robes, Museo Civico d'Arte Industriale e Galleria Davia Bargellini, Bologna, Italy
- Talks: 'Nelson's Contemporaries', National Maritime Museum, London, UK
- Fair: The International Napoleonic Fair, St Albans, UK
- Exhibition: Decoration in the Age of Napoleon: Empire Elegance Versus Regency Refinement, New York Public Library, US
Exhibition: The Treasures of the Fondation Napoléon, Paris, France
The monthly titles
- This month's book: Wellington's Lieutenant, Napoleon's Gaoler: the Peninsula Letters & St Helena Diaries of Sir George Ridout Bingham, by Gareth Glover
- This month's painting: Allegorical drawing to the glory of H. M. the Emperor, by Innocent-Louis Goubaud
- This month's article: Avoiding a Napoleonic Ulcer: Bridging the Gap of Cultural Intelligence (Or, Have We Focused on the Wrong Transformation?), Lieutenant-Colonel G. W. Smith jr
- In the Collectors Corner, Napoleon's travel nécessaire
Got a problem with a link in the letter? Try the homepage
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