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THIS WEEK'S LETTER...
... sees Sylvain Pagé delve into the events leading up to and including the Anglo-American War of 1812, in our two-part article of the month. Turning our focus to the other side of the world, we have details of the National Army Museum's exhibition, "Indian Armies, Indian Art", which opens on 19 May. We also have a final reminder for our 1810 conference, as registration needs to be completed by 20 May. Ploughing onwards, you will find some information about a play on the subject of the French Emperor's exile on Elba currently running in Montreal, and details of the Institut Napoléon's upcoming international conference at the Musée de l'Armée. Finally, we learn that Waterloo is one of the most well-known European monuments in China, read details of a potential reconciliation between the Pope and Napoleon (200 years ago), and revisit Abd-el-Kader's sheltering of Maronite Christians in Damascus and Théophile Gautier's admiration for Chinoiserie (150 years ago).
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WHAT'S ON
Fondation Napoléon Bicentenary concerts
Following each of the three concerts organised for 8, 9 and 10 June, there will be a collection in aid of CABAT (Cellule d'aide aux blessés de l'armée de Terre), an organisation within the French military which offers support to injured French army veterans. The 8 and 10 June dates at Les Invalides are now full, whilst the Saint-Philippe-du-Roule date (9 June) is down to its last remaining places.
1810 conference
The registration deadline for the 1810 conference organised by the Fondation Napoléon and the Souvenir Napoléonien is 20 May.
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"Indian Armies, Indian Art: Soldiers, collectors and artists 1780–1880" at the National Army Museum, London
Exploring the cultural exchange between the British and India in the 18th and 19th centuries, "Indian Armies, Indian Art" (opening on 19 May) will feature beautiful artworks from the National Army Museum's Collection. Watercolours, mica paintings and intricate sculptures created by local artists and collected by British soldiers will illustrate the story of the British in India from a unique perspective. The exhibition includes a series of remarkable paintings displayed together for the first time, commissioned by Colonel James Skinner, whose father was Scottish and his mother Rajput.
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Theatre: "Une partie avec l'Empereur", Montreal, Canada
1814. Europe has been shaken. Napoleon Bonaparte, forced to abdicate, is exiled by his enemies to the island of Elba, just off the coast of Italy. A young English actor is sent to the island to assassinate Napoleon. His mission: infiltrate the emperor's entourage and poison him...
International conference: "Institut Napoléon: Les Provinces illyriennes dans l'Europe napoléonienne"
An international conference organised by the Institut Napoléon will be taking place at the Musée de l'Armée next week, from 20 – 21 May. Participants will include Michel Kerautret ("Napoléon et les Balkans"), Jacques-Olivier Boudon ("Le general Bertrand, gouverneur general des Provinces illyriennes") and Janez Šumrada, Slovenian ambassador to France ("Le project culturel et politique de Valentin Vodnik du temps de l'Illyrie napoléonienne").
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NAPOLEONIC NEWS
Waterloo and the Universal Exhibition
The Waterloo battlefield and its famous lion figure prominently on the Belgian pavilion at the Universal Exhibition in Shanghai, China. This follows a survey carried out in China which shows that these sites figure amongst the most well-known European monuments in China. The "Waterloo 2010" re-enactment event takes place between 18 and 20 June, 2010.
200 YEARS AGO
Napoleon and the pope
By May 1810, Pius VII had been held captive in Savone for almost a year (see bulletin n° 529), long enough for the Catholic kingdom of Austria and Francis II to consider mediating between the Holy See and the French emperor. Relations between Napoleon and the pope were so damaged that a third party was necessary to coax God's representative on earth out of his inertia, a reaction to the violence "committed against his person" as Metternich, Austria's foreign minister, put it. Lebzeltern, the individual nominated to mediate and former Austrian ambassador to the Holy See, was however uncertain of Napoleon's intentions regarding Austria's involvement:
"Is it a way to extricate himself from his current embarrassment and be reconciled with the Holy Father? Or does he simply wish to reinforce his hostile attitude towards the Pope through the obliging cooperation of the principle Catholic power and thus off-load on her [Austria] some of the situation's more odious aspects?"
Napoleon was on the face of it open to the idea but maintained his stance that the pope could not govern temporally in Rome, and reiterated as such to the clergy in the Dyle département during the second half of May 1810:
"I hold the Pope in the highest esteem; I will recognise him as head of the church, as successor to St. Peter, as Vicar of Christ, in all that concerns faith and doctrine. But he must not interfere in my temporal [domain]; these two powers are independent." [Speech delivered by Napoleon to the clergy of the Dyle département, May 1810, Corréspondance de Napoléon Ier, Second Empire edition, n° 16,475]
Metternich was keen to oversee the mediation and assured Francis II in a letter that Napoleon was willing to negotiate should the pope be willing, for his part, to make a number of concessions. However, in the event of discussion failing (an event that Metternich noted was "unfortunately all too possible"), Metternich was certain that Austria would still emerge in a positive light, as defender of the faith:
"I believe that it would not be impossible for a canny holy pontiff to return to Rome with certain modifications, but [nevertheless] maintain his dignity's essential and unalienable rights; unfortunately, the pope has already spoken out in such a way as to be obliged to retract [these views], and as such his attitude is infinitely complicated. If the attempt is unsuccessful, Your Imperial Highness will nevertheless have played a great role, the most dignified role as first prince of Christianity." [Mémoires, vol. II, Prince de Metternich, Paris: E. Plon, 1881, p. 333]
Despite a number of days of discussion with Lebzeltern, during which time the pope opened up and appeared receptive to the idea of renouncing his temporal reign in Rome in exchange for further negotiation and his freedom, nothing was agreed. At the end of their meetings, Pius informed the Austrian simply:
"I authorise you, be it in a verbal or written report that you shall give in Paris, to express only this: that you found me resigned to the decrees of divine Providence, in Whose hands I humbly and exclusively place the defence of my cause, as well as that of my fate... Speak of my calm and my serenity in my prison [...]; may [the Emperor] understand that earthly glories do not ensure eternal well-being." [Mémoires et papiers de Lebzeltern, Paris: Plon, 1949, p. 183]
Napoleon, for his part recognising that Lebzeltern had made certain advances towards reconciliation, put an end to any hopes of compromise, and confirmed the Austrian diplomat's initial fears by announcing to Metternich:
"Listen, my dear fellow, I have gone over and over all the concerns regarding this issue, weighed up the for and against of the affair, and I feel that it is not the right moment [for reconciliation]; things are not quite ready for an agreement with the Pope." [Mémoires et papiers de Lebzeltern, Paris: Plon, 1949, p. 196]
150 YEARS AGO
Napoleon III and Abd-el-Kader: Druze-Maronite violence
On 22 May, 1860, the infamous Druze massacre of thousands of Maronite Christians in Lebanon kicked off a wave of violence that spilled over into Damascus. Abd-el-Kader, who had returned to the city in 1855 after a number of years in exile in France, won international praise and recognition for his sheltering of about 1,500 Christians during the Druze pogroms that swept through the Christian quarter of Damascus. For this act, Napoleon III awarded him the Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur, while Abraham Lincoln presented him with a number of guns in recognition for this service to Christians. France was particularly concerned with the events as it held a role as designated protector of the Maronite church. An international conference met to investigate the causes of the violence, eventually deciding to administratively separate Mount Lebanon (of the which the population was mostly Christian) from Syria.
See Eric Anceau's article on Abd-el-Kader for further details.
The view from the other side of the Channel…
Just as in April and May 2010, in May 1860 'Chinoiserie' was in the air on either side of the English Channel. After Charles Dickens' piece in Household Words mocking a Chinese exhibition in London, the Paris Moniteur of 19 May, 1860 published an essay by Théophile Gautier celebrating the beauties of the sumptuous 'Chinese collection' belonging to French Far-East diplomat, Charles de Montigny. Montigny had, up to 1859, been French consul general in Shanghai and had brokered a treaty with Siam in 1856 which was to lead to the diplomatic reception in June 1861 by Napoleon III and the empress Eugénie, immortalised in Gerome's painting.
In his article, Gautier sang the praises of "the resources of a highly civilised society put to the service of a deliberately immobile art". "Nothing could be more favourable," he noted, "to the excitement of what we call curiosity, fascination
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THE BIBLIOTHEQUE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
Spring opening times
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 1.30pm-6pm
Thursday: 10am-3pm
(Closed Monday and Friday)
FONDATION NAPOLEON ON THE WEB
Each week we offer you a "mystery" link to somewhere on napoleon.org. Click on the link to discover a part of the website you might not have visited before...
Statistic of the week:
The 1855 Universal Exhibition in Paris featured 24,000 exhibitors and received more than 5 million visitors in the six months it was open. The Expo 2010 currently taking place in Shanghai and which runs until November expects to have received over 70 million visitors by the time it closes its doors.
The Fondation Napoléon's triumvirate of Napoleonic websites:
- Napoleon.org
- Napoleonica. La Revue
- Napoleonica. Archives Online
The best of the month:
- Book of the month
- Painting of the month
- Objet d'Art of the month
- Article of the month
MAGAZINE
Press review
- Book review: Behind Closed Doors. At Home in Georgian England plus author's response
- Digital resources review: The Old Bailey Proceedings Online plus editors' response
EVENTS
On now and coming up
A selection of events taking place now or in the coming weeks, taken from our What's on listings.
Conferences
- Fondation Napoléon/Souvenir Napoléonien "1810" conference, La Courneuve, France [08/06/2010 - 09/06/2010]
Full details
- "Institut Napoléon: Les Provinces illyriennes dans l'Europe napoléonienne", Paris, France [20/05/2010 - 21/05/2010]
Full details
Concerts
- Bicentenary concerts commemorating the marriage between Napoleon and Marie-Louise, Paris, France [08/06/2010 - 10/06/2010]
Full details
Theatre
- "Une partie avec l'Empereur", Montreal, Canada [22/04/2010 - 22/05/2010]
Full details
Festivals
- La Nuit des Musées 2010, various, Europe [14/05/2010 - 15/05/2010]
Full details
Exhibitions
- Indian Armies, Indian Art: Soldiers, collectors and artists 1780–1880, London, UK
[19/05/2010 onwards]
Full details
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