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THIS WEEK...
... the newsletter is a veritable globe-trotter. As well as two new Napoleonic site files - the Paleis op de Meir in Antwerp and the Château de Bessonies in the Lot département - we also have news of "Staging Power. Napoleon. Karl Johan. Alexander", a new exhibition taking place in Stockholm plus two Napoleonic conferences - the Napoleonic Association conference in Southampton, UK, and the Napoleonic Historical Society conference in Las Vegas, USA - set for early November. We also have a new literature file which relates the story behind the fabricated "memoirs" of Hudson Lowe, governor during Napoleon's exile on Saint Helena, plus our latest objet d'art of the month, Napoleon's exquisite "nécessaire dentaire". Our traditional 200 and 150 years ago sections round off the week with a look at Napoleon's relationship with the Parisian theatres, and a short text on the meeting of Garibaldi and Victor Emmanuel at Teano, the latest development in the march towards Italian unity.
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OBJET D'ART OF THE MONTH
Napoleon I's nécessaire dentaire, attributed to Martin-Guillaume Biennais
Unusually for the period, Napoleon Bonaparte was very concerned with personal hygiene, and in particular his oral health and teeth, which were reputedly strong and white. Constant, his first valet, wrote in his memoirs that "for his teeth, he used a toothpick made from boxwood and a brush dipped in opiate". This luxurious nécessaire presented here, an exceptional example from the period, holds a number of different instruments suited to the most delicate of dental hygiene tasks. Although it bears no craftsman's mark, historians believe that the set was produced by the imperial goldsmith, Martin-Guillaume Biennais, who was known to have supplied other nécessaires dentaires during the period.
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WHAT'S ON
Staging Power. Napoleon. Karl Johan. Alexander, Stockholm, Sweden
Napoleon, Karl Johan and Alexander were all skilful propagandists who knew how to use art to reflect their self-image and demonstrate the legitimacy of their claim to power. The exhibition focuses on how these three rulers influenced art and were, in turn, influenced by art. Even objects serving the most commonplace purposes could carry a political message. The Nationalmuseum is joining forces with the State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, to present this autumn's exhibition, "Staging Power – Napoleon, Karl Johan, Alexander", featuring some 410 historical artefacts, paintings, jewellery, costumes and fine artisan wares on show.
Napoleonic Association Conference 2010, Southampton, UK
The Napoleonic Association's 2010 conference takes place on 6 November, 2010, at the University of Southampton's Hartley Library, on the Highfield Campus. Talks include Keith Oliver's "Hampshire at War - the Volunteers", Bob Dommett's "Czar Alexander and Blucher", Jonathan Hopkins' "Writing and researching a historical novel" and Carole Divall's "Redcoats in Egypt 1801". Admission is free but photographic ID will be required. Doors open at 10am, and the first talk begins at 11am.
On the other side of the pond, the Napoleonic Historical Society is holding its annual conference between 12 and 14 November in Las Vegas, Nevada. Registration is still open, and talks will cover such subjects as Napoleon's Polish troops, Talleyrand, Kellerman's cavalry at Waterloo, and Bessières.
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NAPOLEONIC LITERATURE
Mémorial de Sir Hudson Lowe, relatif à la captivité de Napoléon à Sainte-Hélène
Despite the title, these memoirs are actually a fabrication put together by two Parisian hacks named Léon-Jérôme Vidal and Alphonse Signol. In his day-to-day life, Vidal held an office management position at the Ministry of the Interior, whilst Alphonse Signol was a well-known writer of popular fiction and vaudeville plays during the 1820s. It is believed that Vidal was active in pro-Napoleonic circles or, at the very least, took his inspiration and much of the content for the Hudson Lowe Memorial from these groups. Written in the first person, the book is founded on the premise that Hudson Lowe must have felt obliged to justify his behaviour and actions whilst governor of Saint-Helena. Nevertheless, a close reading of the text reveals a number of rather glaring mistakes.
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NAPOLEON.ORG
Places, museums and monuments: the Paleis op de Meir
Between 1811 and 1812, the Paleis op de Meir in Antwerp (Belgium) - and all its furniture - was purchased by Napoleon I. At the time, the city was one of the most important military ports in the French Empire and the French emperor was keen to spend as much time there as possible. His imperial architect, Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine, was charged with transforming the palace into an "imperial headquarters". The entire building was renovated and redecorated in the Empire style with, on the first floor, a suite of imperial reception rooms and apartments which gave out onto the garden. The interior fabrics and imperial furniture were also specially commissioned and installed for the site.
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The Château de Bessonies
Bessonies, a small commune in the Lot département, sits at an altitude of 580 metres above sea level. It is particularly famous for being the location of Maréchal Ney's arrest on 3 August, 1815. Having fallen into disrepair in the interim, it was purchased in 2000 and restored to its former glories. After being accused of treason against the Bourbons during the period known as the Cent Jours, Maréchal Ney took refuge in the castle. His short stay at the castle lasted until daybreak on 3 August, when fourteen gendarmes encircled the castle and Ney surrendered peacefully.
200 YEARS AGO
Napoleon and the theatre
On 29 July, 1807, Napoleon Bonaparte, who had very clear ideas about what theatre troupes should and should not perform (he was particularly keen on historical plays which reflected the grandeur and majesty of the French Empire), went a step further and announced a decree reducing the number of theatres in Paris to eight. Of this number, there were to be four "grands théâtres", which comprised Paris' largest theatres (the Théâtre-Français, the Théâtre de l'Opéra - also known as the Académie impériale de musique -, the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre de l'Impératrice - also known as the Théâtre de l'Odéon -), supported by the state and placed under the protection of Napoleon. The remaining four were classed as "théâtres secondaires" (the Théâtre du Vaudeville, les Variétés, l'Ambigu-Comique, and la Gaîté), placed outside the Parisian centre, and reserved for vaudeville and melodrama productions, clearly demonstrating Napoleon's distaste for such works. With the number of theatres strictly limited, smaller companies seeking to put on a production were forced to do so in small venues and forbidden from carrying the name of the theatre.
And so, in 1810, the "Jeux-Gymniques" set up shop in the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin. One of the company's plays was L'Homme du destin, which featured an individual named Chevalier dressed in a grey overcoat and small hat. The rumour at the time went that upon learning of this production, Napoleon - accompanied by Duroc - went along to the theatre incognito and having enjoyed the piece, rewarded his "double" with a gift of 1,200 Francs. Incensed by such liberties taken by the company, on 28 October, 1810, Napoleon dispatched a strongly-worded letter to General Savary, the Police Minister:
"The administrators at the Théâtre Saint-Martin have been circulating the rumour that I was at their theatre, the consequence of which is that they have decorated a box for me. Have it removed. I find it equally unpleasant that there are plays which allude to my person. It is unseemly and indecent." [Letter from Napoleon to Savary dated 28 October, 1810]
Unsurprisingly, with run-ins with the regime and the restrictions placed on theatre companies not protected by Napoleon, the "Jeux-Gymniques" lasted just thirty months in their Saint-Martin home.
150 YEARS AGO
Italian affairs: Garibaldi and Victor-Emmanuel at Teano
Having finished the conquest of Sicily (see bulletin n° 550), Garibaldi (with British help) crossed the Strait of Messina to invade the Italian peninsula, raising eyebrows in the rest of the world but most notably in Piedmont. And the fact that the progress of the 'Red shirts' up the boot was met with more celebration than resistance made Piedmontese minister Cavour even more concerned; he feared that Garibaldi would install a democratic republican regime in the south, antagonistic both to Italian unity and also the Pope and Piedmont. And the possibility of revolution and attacks on Rome and Venice raised the prospect of war not only with France but also with Austria. Cavour's way of countering this potential disaster was to have the king lead an unprovoked invasion of the Papal States (two-thirds of which were occupied by the end of September). Though fiercely republican, Garibaldi was however devoted to the king and so chose to avoid internecine conflict and to hand over all his territorial gains in the south to the Piedmontese at the famous meeting at Teano on 26 October, 1860. Though Italian historians still dispute the exact place and time, not to mention a host of other details (something which would imply how little importance this matter had), the result was all important. Cavour's gamble had paid off and the road to Italian unity under the Piedmontese crown was wide open.
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks & Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 557, 22 – 28 October, 2010
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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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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
During the Second Empire, the Cirque Napoléon de Paris (now the Cirque d'Hiver) could hold 4,000 spectators, compared to (just) 1,650 today.
MAGAZINE
Just published
- El conde de Fuentes: Vida, prisiones y muertes de Armando Pignatelli, by José Antonio Begeuría Latorre and Ignacio Perurena Borobia
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
- Napoleonic Association Conference 2010, Southampton, UK [06/11/2010]
Full details
- Napoleonic Historical Society 2010 conference, Las Vegas, USA [12/11/2010 - 14/11/2010]
Full details
Exhibitions
- "Staging Power. Napoleon. Karl Johan. Alexander", Stockholm, Sweden [30/09/2010 - 23/01/2011]
Full details
Talks
- "Le Souvenir Napoléonien - Delegation for Northern Italy: Remembrance of the Battle of Sacile" [09/11/2010]
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
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