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AS WE WIND DOWN...
... towards the summer break and the temperature continues to soar here in Paris, this week's letter has plenty of ideas to keep you occupied during the coming months of July and August. Our painting of the month comes from Courbet and is currently on display in Arc-et-Senans in France as part of the "Courbet-Proudhon" exhibition. Our Summer Selection 2010 gathers together the major book releases, digital resources, exhibitions and Napoleonic walks which have featured on this website in the last year or so and which should give you plenty to be getting on with. And if not? Well, then there's news of a couple of Souvenir Napoléonien historical trips and details of an exhibition on Lucien Bonaparte currently taking place in Corsica. And if you need more reading material, we also have a new fashion file (the Princess d'Eckmühl's ceremonial dress and train), an update on the Waterloo restoration project, our latest selection from Napoleonica. La Revue and our glances back in time, with 200 (Amsterdam is occupied by French troops, and the remains of Maréchal Lannes are moved to the Panthéon) and 150 years ago (the "War of the Dentists").
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PAINTING OF THE MONTH
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and his children in 1853, by Gustave Courbet
A decidedly independent and provocative artist, Gustave Courbet built his reputation in defiance of the imperial regime. And his success came as much from the scandals which he repeatedly provoked by his paintings at the Salons as with the combative relations which he had with the administrators of French Fine Arts. Through his extraordinary temperament and huge ego, he faced off 'the powers that were' without fear, refusing commissions and sales, organising his own personal exhibition on the fringes of the Universal Exhibitions of 1855 and of 1867 and, his supreme act of hubris, refusing membership of the Légion d'honneur in 1870.
The painting is currently on display as part of the "Courbet-Proudhon, Art and the people" exhibition which is taking place at the Saline Royale in Arc-et-Senans, France.
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SUMMER SELECTION 2010
Books, websites, visits, exhibitions for the summer
It's that time of year again: holidays are booked, bags are packed, and all that's left is something to keep you occupied during your time off. Well, look no further, for we here at the Fondation Napoléon have put together our 2010 Summer Selection, which not only includes some of the latest literature on Napoleonic history, but also digital resources and content, exhibition recommendations and history-themed walks and tours, enough to last you through the next few months of whatever you have planned.
WHAT'S ON
Souvenir Napoléonien historical trips
The Souvenir Napoléonien is currently organising two trips for its members, both in France and based abroad. The first, a Louis Bonaparte-themed trip to the Netherlands, will take place between 20 and 24 September, 2010, whilst the second, a trip to St Helena, is scheduled for 30 May to 19 June, 2011. Registration for these two trips will close on 15 July, 2010 (St Helena) and 17 July, 2010 (The Netherlands). Link is external in French.
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Lucien Bonaparte (1775-1840): a free man", Musée Fesch, Corsica
Lucien Bonaparte was still not even thirty when he left Paris in 1804 following his rift with the First Consul. He surely cannot have thought that his departure would be final, and that his political career, so brilliantly begun, would be over so soon. A new chapter in his life - the thirty-six years spent in Italy until his death in Viterbo - was to unfold in a far calmer manner, with his days spent in pursuit of more aesthetic pleasures, family enjoyment, reflective writing and erudition. As well as the story of a supremely talented man living at a time of great upheaval, his life also provides us with a parallel study of two cities - Paris and Rome - and two civilisations - French and Italian - which were to be joined together in perpetuum by the Bonaparte phenomenon.
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NAPOLEON.ORG
Ceremonial dress and train belonging to the wife of Maréchal Davout
When present during ceremonies or receptions being held at the Palais des Tuileries, women of the imperial court were obliged to wear "well-adorned" dresses, with a low neckline and high waist over a long, figure-hugging skirt, which would be richly embroidered with gold and silver. The dress and train shown here are products of one of the rare instances when the Princess d'Eckmühl (born Louise-Aimée-Julie Leclerc) agreed to engage the services of the great Parisian couturier, Louis-Hippolyte Leroy, on the occasion of the imperial wedding.
NAPOLEONIC NEWS
Restoration project for the Waterloo Memorial and Lion's Hamlet
The forty million Euro restoration project for the Waterloo Memorial and the Lion's Hamlet is apparently back on after languishing in administrative and financial limbo for a number of years. The minister in charge of tourism for the Wallon region, Paul Furlan, confirmed during the Waterloo re-enactment weekend (18 - 20 June) that the project was set to go ahead. The start date may even be as early as September, although no official time-scale has been confirmed. The project, which will also include installing motorway slip-road access to the battlefield, is intended to boost the site's visitor figures from 380,000 per year to something closer to 500,000 per year.
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NAPOLEONICA. LA REVUE
The experience of music in the Napoleonic world
Our latest suggestion for Napoleonica. La Revue reading material comes from issue n° 7, the special edition on music and its role in Napoleonic society, is written by music historian David Chaillou, and is entitled "À la gloire de l'Empereur : l'opéra de Paris sous Napoléon Ier". The article is available for free from Cairn.info.
200 YEARS AGO
French troops occupy Amsterdam
Following Louis Bonaparte's abdication from the Dutch throne (see bulletin n° 578) and his attempt to leave his son, Napoleon-Louis, in his place, French troops dispatched by the French emperor Napoleon I occupied Amsterdam on 4 July, 1810. The Dutch kingdom was subsequently annexed to the French Empire, a state of affairs that would last until 1813 and Napoleon's retreat back into France.
Transferral of Maréchal Lannes' remains to the Panthéon
The Moniteur from 7 July, 1810, announced the previous day's transferral of Maréchal Lannes remains, from the Les Invalides complex to the Panthéon building, where they remain to this day.
"Paris, 6 July
The Maréchal Duc de Montebello's funeral ceremony and his transfer from the Hôtel impérial des Invalides to the Panthéon took place today, as per the dispositions set out in the programme that we have already printed. H.S.H. the Prince Arch-chancellor [Cambacérès] presided over the ceremony. The imposing and religious nature [of the ceremony] had the most profound effect on the numerous spectators that had assembled all along the route of the procession."
For more information on Maréchal Lannes' death and his last military involvement, the Austrian campaign of 1809, why not take a look at our close-ups on: the Battle of Aspern-Essling and the Battle of Wagram?
150 YEARS AGO
The War of the Dentists
Under the simple title, "Our Dentists", the 5 July, 1860 issue of the French bi-weekly newspaper, Le Figaro, wrote a humorous piece on a disagreement between two Parisian dentists.
"How very troubled the 19th century is. At the same that the war in Sicily continues, we have also witnessed the outbreak of the War of the Dentists.
Under whose banner are you aligned? Are you ready to die for Fattet, or for Dorigny?
Dorigny is very popular. Dorigny is the inventor of the famous "5 franc teeth", over which everyone is having it out; that is to say, which they are having fitted.
And yet, that temerarious Fattet is attempting to chip away at the 5 franc teeth, announcing that they are "unfit for the task of mastication"; and so the touch paper was lit!
Upon hearing these highly charged words:
Dorigny gnashed his (5 franc) teeth.
Dorigny, furious, bared his (5 franc) teeth to his adversary.
Dorigny proceeded to the Palais de Justice, armed to the (5 franc) teeth.
Already, Dorigny has seen Fattet convicted, and the former's lawyer quite rightly sank his (5 franc) teeth into him.
But Fattet won the case on appeal and it is understood that it is a real kick in the (5 franc) teeth for Dorigny.
It is said that Dorigny was heard murmuring, through gritted (5 franc) teeth, those famous lines by Victor Hugo [from "Romance Mauresque", in Hugo's Les Orientales, ed.]:
"I am your lord, your master,
And I shall tear out, traitor,
Your last breath from behind those (5 franc) teeth."
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks & Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 549, 2 – 8 July, 2010
Interested in the work of the Fondation Napoléon? Why not participate, either generally or in a specific project, by making a donation?
© 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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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:
In 1817, a Frenchman living in the provinces consumed on average 80 pounds of meat per year, compared with 207 pounds for someone living in Paris. (Source: Chantal Lheureux-Prévot, Les Paysans de Napoléon, published by Soteca.)
MAGAZINE
Just published
- 1809: Thunder on the Danube: Napoleon's Defeat of the Habsburgs Vol. III Wagram and Znaim, by John H. Gill
- The Arts of Industry in the Age of Enlightenment, by Celina Fox
- Matthew Boulton: Selling What All The World Desires, edited by Shena Mason
Press review
- Restoration project for the Waterloo Memorial and Lion's Hamlet
- Napoleon's lock of hair goes for £8,600
- French History, vol. 24, n° 2 June 2010
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.
Conference
- The French Revolution in 2010, Portsmouth, UK 05/07/2010 - 06/07/2010]
Full details
Exhibitions
- "Lucien Bonaparte (1775-1840): a free man", Ajaccio, Corsica, France [26/06/2010 - 27/09/2010]
Full details
- "Courbet-Proudhon, Art and the people", Arc-et-Senans, France [04/06/2010 - 06/09/2010]
Full details
Talks
- "The London French: A Temporal and Spatial Mapping of the French Presence in the British Capital from the Seventeenth Century to the Present Day", London, UK [02/07/2010]
Full details
- The Battle of Inkerman, London, UK [08/07/2010]
Full details
Visits
- Souvenir Napoléonien Louis Bonaparte trip to the Netherlands, Amsterdam, The Netherlands [20/09/2010 - 24/09/2010]
- Souvenir Napoléonien St Helena trip, Jamestown, St Helena [30/05/2011 - 19/06/2011]
NAPOLEON.ORG
The best of the month:
- Book of the month
- Painting of the month
- Objet d'Art of the month
- Article of the month
NAPOLEONICA.LA REVUE
Available free on Cairn.info
NAPOLEONICA ARCHIVES ONLINE
THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
Summer opening times (5 July – 2 August):
Situated at 148 boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris, the library is open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 10am – 3pm.
Online catalogue
Digital Library
Contact
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