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THE LETTER...
... this week begins our build up to the festive season. Yes, it's that time again, when thoughts turn to religious holidays, gift-giving and seasonal cheer, and our energies turn to compiling our Christmas Selection 2010. We also have our painting of the month, which sees Napoleon Bonaparte face down the mighty Sphinx in Jean-Léon Gérôme's oriental-themed composition. And for those looking to see that and other paintings by Gérôme up close and personal (so to speak), we have details of the exhibition dedicated to the artist which is currently taking place at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Further down, you'll find a short BBC report on the burial in Lithuania of eighteen French soldiers of the Grande Armée who perished during the retreat from Russia, plus our latest selection from Napoleonica. La Revue (Emmanuel de Waresquiel's "Talleyrand, homme des Lumières (1754-1838)"). Finally, we round things off in our usual style, with 200 and 150 years ago, which sees the anniversary of Napoleon I's coronation celebrated across the empire, and an illuminating innovation for Paris' Second Empire street signs.
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PAINTING OF THE MONTH
Oedipus, by Jean-Léon Gérôme
Towards the end of the Second Empire, the legend of Napoleon began to take hold of Jean-Léon Gérôme, who proceeded to extract from the mythical Egyptian campaign such subjects that could be combined with his love for Orientalism. Part of a series of canvases inspired by the Egyptian campaign, this painting depicts a meeting between the colossal Sphinx - which dominates the composition and, in turn, Bonaparte - and the solitary French general who, astride his horse, his hand resting on his thigh, remains nevertheless unimpressed by the ancient monument.
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NAPOLEON.ORG
Christmas Selection 2010
December is now upon us, and it's that time again to take a look at our Christmas selection for 2010. With three weeks to go before Christmas hits, we here at the Fondation Napoléon have prepared a list of releases in the world of history, including monographs, collections of essays, primary sources and first-hand accounts, and digital media. Looking for some festive gift ideas? This list should give you plenty of help in finding the perfect Napoleonic-themed present. And if you need any more help deciding on what to give, why not have a look at our French-language Christmas list?
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NAPOLEONICA. LA REVUE
Issue n° 8
Continuing our wander through issue n° 8 of Napoleonica. La Revue, now available for free on cairn.info, this week's featured article is Emmanuel de Waresquiel's "Talleyrand, homme des Lumières (1754-1838)". More than just a son of the Enlightenment, Talleyrand was the perfect embodiment of it, by his education, by his thought, by his esprit and even by his style, before, during, and after the Empire, right up to his death in 1838. This article reveals the man's exceptionalism, in the way he personally contributed, from the Ancien Régime to the July Monarchy, passing via the Consulate and the Empire, to a good part of what makes up the "exception française" over the last two centuries.
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WHAT'S ON
"The Spectacular Art of Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904)", Paris, France
This exhibition, currently open at the Musée d'Orsay until 23 January, 2011, takes a look at the work of Jean-Léon Gérôme (including our painting of the month, Oedipus), his sources and his influence: Gérôme's place in French painting of his time, his theatrical interpretation of history painting, his complex relationship with exoticism, his use of polychromy in sculpture, his role as a teacher and his interest in the Classical model. It also looks at how his personality crystallised the whole anti-Academic struggle of the late 19th century, and finally how he aroused the passionate interest of the general public and American collectors.
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PRESS REVIEW
BBC: Lithuania buries Napoleon's defeated soldiers
The BBC website (UK) features a short report on the burial ceremony for eighteen unnamed French soldiers, members of the Grande Armée which invaded Russia in 1812, who perished in Lithuania during Napoleon's retreat. It is estimated that between 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers died near Vilnius, but accurate statistics are hard to come by. France's ambassador to Lithuania was present during the commemorative ceremony, which saw the eighteen coffins laid in the ground by soldiers from the Lithuanian army.
200 YEARS AGO
The Empire celebrates the coronation
The first weekend of December 1810 saw the French Empire celebrate Napoleon's coronation. On 2 December, in Paris, Napoleon, seated on his throne, received a deputation from the Senate before attending mass, which was delivered by Cardinal Fesch and was followed by a Te Deum sung in honour of the imperial couple. During the course of that week, Le Moniteur reported on outbursts of public delight and officially organised ceremonies taking place across the empire, marking the anniversary of Napoleon's ascension to the imperial throne. Frankfurt too celebrated a Te Deum the morning of 3 December, which was followed by a grand banquet attended by French ministers, army heads and duchy officials serving in the government. The day's events came to an end with the recital - in French - of a prologue glorifying the emperor and his victorious armies. In the former Kingdom of Holland - which Napoleon had just recently incorporated into his empire, removing his brother Louis from power in the process - the "imperialisation" process was in full swing. Grand illuminations lit up the cities of The Hague, Rotterdam, Delft and Harlem, and in Amsterdam, the day of 3 December was marked by cannon salvos and a splendid military parade - in the presence of the imperial architrésorier, Le Brun, and Oudinot, Duc de Reggio - in front of the imperial palace. Le Moniteur was moved - perhaps a tad too vigorously, it must be said - to comment that "the most sincere expression of delight animated an immense crowd which had eagerly assembled to express and demonstrate their unequivocal joy" [Le Moniteur, 6 December, 1810].
150 YEARS AGO
An illuminating new innovation for Paris
On 6 December, 1860, the Moniteur Universel featured a brief article on the trial of an innovative new instrument intended to improve Parisians' navigation within the city: illuminated street signs.
"The installation of the new plaques, on Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville and Avenue Victoria, displaying the name of the public thoroughfares and house numbers is nearing completion. A trial [of the system] will begin soon. We know that [the use] of signs for the names of streets only dates back to 1728: before this time, tradition dictated the name of each street. Initially, plaques made from white iron were used; but time and the weather erased their characters, and it was decided to engrave the names into the stone itself. A notable improvement was achieved through the adoption of plaques made from enamelled lavastone, which remain in usage today; no more was needed but to ensure that the inscriptions be as readable at night as they are during the day. It is this result that we have set out to achieve with these new instruments, the installation of which is currently being completed. The advantage of [these instruments] is that they will conserve the distinctive colours of the current plaques - the blue and the white. These instruments consist of a simple double frame of bronze, the anterior section of which holds the designative plaque (made of blue glass) upon which the name of the street or the number is engraved in white. On the inside is a horizontal tube fitted with one or more gas lamps (depending on the length of the inscription). The instrument opens and closes with absolutely no difficulty, thanks to an ingenious system of chains and counterweights hidden in the masonry. Openings intended for the ventilation and release of heat have been inserted along the top and the bottom lengths of frame. These instruments protrude little onto the public throughway, and we can only hope - if the intended trial is successful - to see them adopted more extensively."
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks & Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 563, 3 – 9 December
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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
UK online spending in the run-up to Christmas is predicted to hit £1.26bn ($1.98bn) (source: Logan Tod's Annual Online Shopping Index).
MAGAZINE
Press review
- BBC: Lithuania buries dead
- The Institute of Historical Research: review of The Illustrated London News Historical online archives
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.
Exhibitions
- "The Spectacular Art of Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904)", Paris, France [19/10/2010 - 23/01/2011]
Full details
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
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On Tuesday 7 December, the library will close at 4pm.
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