The legend of Napoleon Bonaparte in 47 images
I do not have a particular passion for Napoleon, but I admire the works of art, especially the busts, bronzes and paintings that he inspired to artists of great talent. I took all these photos at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
In 2008, Ben Weider offered the museum an amazing collection of works dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte and the First Empire. We could see all these magnificent works of art on the 3rd level at the Pavillon Jean Noël Desmarais. Since December, some of the works are exhibited at the Pavilion Micha and Renata Hornstein, Pavilion of Peace, inaugurated in December 2016.
In order, you will see photos in the first exhibition rooms devoted to Napoleon, then to the Pavilion of Peace. My photos are original in format and colors, except for a few photos I cropped. I show them at the end of this project on Napoleon.
The information on the artwork is from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, but I have added some information.
Good viewing!
The Romantic Myth
Long before the Eagle fell, the Napoleonic legend had been taking shape. Aware of the power of propaganda, the Emperor personally supervised the diffusion of his image, ordering the production of a growing number of items idealizing his words and deeds. The Empire collapsed but the legend persisted. In June 1815, forced to abdicate after his defeat at Waterloo, when Paris was threatened, Napoleon renounced the title of Emperor in favour of his son the Eaglet, Napoleon II. A month later he surrendered to the English. After a seventy-two-day voyage he disembarked at Saint Helena off the coast of Africa, where lifelong imprisonment awaited him in Longwood. Still quick-witted, in full possession of all his faculties, he continued to polish his image. The memoirs he dictated to Las Case and his conversations with Gourgaud, Montholon and Bertrand, his companions in misfortune, were later to provide invaluable testimony that would bolster the cult of Napoleon the Great.
The privations of his final years, the prohibitions and sanctions imposed on him by Sir Hudson Lowe (1769-1844), the hard-line governor of the island, eventually made the fallen leader a martyr. On May 5, 1921, the first Napoleon died on Saint Helena at the age of fifty-two. His passing hallowed the legend. A number of factors helped it to flourish: first and foremost, the publication of the Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène by Las Cases in 1823; the huge sales after 1833 of copies of the death mask produced by Doctor Antommarchi; the accession of the liberal Louis-Philippe accompanied by the reverence accorded to portraits and symbols of the Emperor which the first Restoration had suppressed.
Anonymous
Bust of Madame Mère (?)
Early 19th c.
Marble
On loan from Malmaison, New York, Roger Prigent 835.2008
This elegant bust depicts Napoleon's mother, Maria Letizia Ramolino (1749-1836). During the Revolution, she refused to join in the Corsican movement against the Republic and took refuge in France with her eight children: five boys-Joseph, Napoléon, Lucien, Louis and Jérôme- and three girls-Élisa, Pauline and Caroline. This period of privation came to an end when Napoleon's military career took off: he was appointed general in chief of the Army of the Interior in 1795 and was thus able to support his family. During the Consulate, "Madame Mère," as she was known, enjoyed the comfort of a private mansion in Paris. Later, with the inauguration of the Empire, she was styled "Her Imperial Majesty, the Mother of the Emperor." These privileges, however, did not prevent her from standing up to her son when she disapproved of his decisions. Moreover, she did not attend the 1804 coronation ceremony, due to a conflict between Napoleon and Lucien.
Her strong character was tinged with a dose of scepticism. She anticipated harder times, during which she would need to devote herself to her children. During the upheaval upon the fall of the Empire in 1814, she provided support for her son. She fought to join him in Saint Helena, finally dying in exile in Rome in 1836. At the end of his life, Napoleon paid tribute to his mother and so, in the Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène, can be read, "Madame Mère had a strong spirit that had been steeled by the greatest of events."
Joseph Chinard / Lyons 1756 - Lyons 1813
Bust of Empress Joséphine
About 1805
Terracotta
Joséphine de Beauharnais
Born T. DE LA PAGERIE
1763-11814, 51 years old
Josephine inspired many sculptors, including Chaudet, Houdon and especially Chinard, considered the most discrimnating portraitist of his day. He was particularly renowned for his portraits of women.
Au début de l'Empire, le sculpteur représente l'impératrice dans son costume d'apparat, une robe ornée de palmettes classiques et un diadème with precious stones. L'expression de son visage, paisible et réfléchi sied à la "mother of the people."
Josephine liked this portrait and had several smaller copies of it made, including this terracotta version.
Napoleon Bonaparte - "Napoleon 1"
Antoine-Denis Chaudet (?)
Paris 1763 – Paris 1810
Bust of Napoleon 1
Early 19th c.
Marble
On loan Malmaison, New York, Yvonne Prigent Lacks, inv. 834.2008
Following the Proclamation of Empire, the Sèvres porcelain factory commissioned a bust of the Emperor destined for production in porcelain biscuit from Chaudet. The artist used a model from 1802, when Bonaparte was still First Consul. The bust quickly became the official sculpted effigy for Napoleon. Produced copiously, these busts were used as official gifts, their size depending on the status of the recipient. Chaudet's work is characterized by its restraint. The portrait seeks to convey in marble the dignity of the Imperial position, borrowing from the iconography of the Roman emperors of yore: the impassivity, set chin, furrowed brow and unremitting gaze here assert the irrefutable authority of a new Caesar.
Bonaparte à Milan
Circa 1800
Oil on canvas
Napoleon 1
Andrea Appiani,
Milan, Italy, 1754 – Milan, Italy, 1817
Brought to America by Joseph Bonaparte
Although created a pensioned artist to the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon, Appiani lost his allowance after the events of 1814 and fell into poverty. During his period as court painter he rendered portraits of Napoleon and the chief personages of his regime, among the most graceful of which are his oil paintings Venus and Love, and Rinaldo in the garden of Armida. He is known as "the elder", to distinguish him from his great-nephew Andrea Appiani, an historical painter at Rome.
Laslett John Pott
Newark (Angleterre) 1837 – (?) 1898
The First Sight of Moscow
1892
Oil on canvas
Ben Weider Collection
2009.182
Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904)
Bonaparte entering Cairo, circa 1897
Bronze with several patins
Bronze with several patins
Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor the style now known as academicism.
He started experimenting with mixed ingredients, using for his statues tinted marble, bronze and ivory, inlaid with precious stones and paste. His Dancer was exhibited in 1891. His lifesize statue Bellona (1892), in ivory, bronze, and gemstones, attracted great attention at the exhibition in the Royal Academy of London.
The artist then began a series of Conquerors, wrought in gold, silver and gems: Bonaparte entering Cairo (1897); Tamerlane (1898); and Frederick the Great (1899).
(Wikipedia)
Napoleons Last Grand Attack by Ernest Crofts.
The fourth release of Ernest Crofts Waterloo series. Napoleon is seen with his generals as his faithfull Guard regiments (held in reserve) pass him on their way to the last French attack on the British lines during the last stages of the Battle of Waterloo. Painted in 1895 and was last sold at Sothebys London.
The fourth release of Ernest Crofts Waterloo series. Napoleon is seen with his generals as his faithfull Guard regiments (held in reserve) pass him on their way to the last French attack on the British lines during the last stages of the Battle of Waterloo. Painted in 1895 and was last sold at Sothebys London.
Ernest Crofts RA (15 September 1847-1819 March 1911) was a British painter of historical and military scenes.
In 1875, Crofts exhibited ligny at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) and at the International Exhibition in Philadelphia. The following year saw his picture representing The morning of the Battle of Waterloo which captured the dawn of the day with the tired and bespattered troops. One critic described it as follows: "Mr. Crofts' large canvas is admirable in the grouping of the soldiers on the morning of the battle; the day is breaking, on a weary, wounded and mud-stained company, some lying on the bare ground with knapsacks for pillows, some up and preparing for the march. The artillery are just on the move, and the note of preparation is sounding. The tone of the picture reminds us of the French school". (Wikipedia)
Vincenzo Vela
Last days of the Emperor
43 x 30 x 39,5 cm
Vincenzo Vela (May 3, 1820 Ligometto, Ticino - October 3, 1891 Mendrisio) was a Swiss-Italian sculptor, son of a small peasant of the Mendrisiotto.
The sculpture "Last days of the Emperor Napoleon 1st in Sainte-Helene" is presented at the Universal Exhibition of Paris of 1867. It receives the prize of honor. This work is very well received, as testified by Ernest Cheneau's article: "the public has been overwhelmed by the interest of the motif, full of such profound emotion.He has also studied with curiosity the feats of strength The practitioner who has had the patience to sculpt in a trompe-l'oeil a blanket of wool thrown on the knees of the dying emperor and the lace falling on his chest and hands. This sculpture: is acquired by Napoleon III. It was the object of reductions in bronze in four different sizes by Bardedienne.
Workshop
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Copenhagen 1770 – Copenhagen 1844
The Apotheosis of Napoleon
About 1830
Marble
Ben Weider Collection, inv. 2008.415
As famous in Northern Europe as a modern Phidias, Thorvaldsen was the most important neo-classical sculptor of his day, together with Canova, his only serious rival. The Danish-born Thorvaldsen spent long periods in his studio in Rome. He had remarkable success there, obtaining commissions from private individuals and from the government, most notably for the tomb of Pope Pius VII in the Basilica of Saint Peter. In 1829 the Scot Alexander Murray, passing through Rome, commissioned him to create a portrait bust of Napoleon, who had died eight years earlier. His legend continued to grow. The Danish sculptor created a monumental work in his typical neo-classical style, a skillful combination of austerity and archaism. The Emperor is idealized, majestic, borne up by eagle of victory and the palm branches of glory, motifs taken from the repertory of antiquity. This bust is one of five marble copies of the original, which is kept in the Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen.
Death Mask of Napoleon1 by Francesco Antommarchi. The information for this sculpture is lower down, to another photo of this same mask.
Since December 2016, the exhibition on Napoleon is in the Michal and Renata Hornstein, Pavilion for Peace, the new pavilion of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
You will see some of the works of art, but in a new setting and photographed differently.
For more information on the new pavilion, visit this link:
https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/museum-district/pavilion-for-peace/
Napoleon Bonaparte - "Napoleon 1" by Antoine-Denis Chaudet
Paris 1763 – Paris 1810 / Bust of Napoleon 1 / Early 19th c. / Marble
The Apotheosis of Napoleon by Bertel Thorvaldsen / Copenhagen 1770 – Copenhagen 1844
About 1830 / Marble
Photo of the front and back of the bust The Apotheosis of Napoleon by Bertel Thorvaldsen.
Workshop of the Baron François-Pascal-Simon Gérard (1770-1837)
Portrait in bust of Napoleon 1st
In sacred costume
Around 1805, oil on canvas 142 x 95.5 cm
Portrait in bust of Napoleon 1st
In sacred costume
Around 1805, oil on canvas 142 x 95.5 cm
On December 2, 1804, Napoleon I proclaimed himself Emperor of the French before Pope VII, his family and a crowd of guests gathered at Notre-Dame. During the Sacre, he donned the "great garment": laurel wreath, white silk tunic, gloves embroidered with gold, purple velvet cloak studded with bees and lined with ermine. Around his neck, he wears a lace tie and the necklace of the Legion of Honor. The painter Gérard conceived one of the most memorable visions of the emperor in coronation costume in a full-length portrait completed in 1805. Seduced by this refined composition, Napoleon ordered several replicas that he offered to foreign dignitaries and diplomats. In France, the work is reproduced in numerous copies, in all formats. It is engraved, but also painted on porcelain or mounted in medallion. This version in bust is remarkable since it is the only known oval copy that is adorned with its frame. Made of carved and gilt wood, this period frame is surmounted by the imperial eagle, an emblem recalling the Roman Empire and the reign of Charlemagne. (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts)
Denzil O. Ibbetson
United Kingdom 1787 – New Zealand 1857
The Emperor Napoleon on His Deathbed
1821
Oil on canvas
On loan from the Count and Countess Charles André Colonna Walewski collection, Geneva, inv. 307.2016
Attached to the Commissariat of the British Army from 1808 to 1857, Ibbetson was on the convoy that, following his defeat at Waterloo in 1815, took Napoleon to Saint Helena. During his mission, he kept a diary in which he noted down and drew everything he heard and saw, providing a valuable account of living conditions on the island. Napoleon died on May 5, 1821. The day after, Ibbetson was made responsible for certifying his death, and he took advantage of the opportunity to make sketches, which he later drew on to create two "reliquary" paintings.
This work is one of those paintings. Following its execution, Ibbetson gave it to Sir Hudson Lowe, the governor of Saint Helena. On his return to London, the latter presented it to King George IV as visual proof of the death of Britain's great enemy. The Crown divested itself of the work in the mid-1920s.
The death of the sovereign is an especially important theme in Western iconography, essentially serving to assert in representational terms the principle of the continuity of the system of government despite the mortality of monarchs themselves. Of course, the case of Napoleon, the first emperor of his dynasty who was forced into abdication and exile, is altogether unusual, certainly just as much as the technique of this work, painted by an amateur. How should we regard it? What do we see? A spent, bloated man, all alone, his life at its end after a slow death. Nonetheless, Ibbetson seems to have been aware of the mute grandeur of the corpse before him. His almost caricatural Napoleon is a portrait of exceptional intensity, in which hate seems to have given way to empathy.
Count Charles-André Walewski is a direct descendant of Napoleon.
"From the love of Napoleon and Marie Walewska was born a son, Alexander Colonna Walewski, to whom the Emperor conceded the title of count of the Empire by letters patent in 1812. Today the great-great- Alexander, Count I Colonna Walewski, are the last direct descendants of Napoleon. " For more information, visit: http://www.colonnawalewski.org/
Francesco Antommarchi
Physician of Napoleon 1
Baragona Mursiglia, Corsica, 1789 – Santiago, Cuba, 1838
Death Mask of Napoleon 1
After 1833
Patinated bronze
Cast L. Richard & Quesnel, Paris
Ben Weider Collection 2008.416
In 1818, when he was only a junior anatomy demonstrator in Florence, the Corsican-born Doctor Francesco Antommarchi was asked by the Bonaparte family to replace Doctor O'Meara as physician to the emperor déchu. When Napoleon died, on May 5, 1821, the doctor took an impression of the dead face, using a mixture of ground minerals.
Controversy raged for more than a decade over who made the initial cast. Two doctors claimed to have done so, Antommarchi and the English surgeon Francis Burton, who was on the island. Antommarchi waited until 1833, when his English rival was dead, before authorizing the production and marketing of copies of his death mask. Several plaster copies made by the Corsican physician are conserved in French collections. Cast in plaster and in bronze, the Antommarchi mask bears his signature on one side and a small bronze medallion of the Emperor's head in profile, wearing a laurel wreath, at the front, as in this version.
Ever since I was a member of Behance, I have always been happy to discover your projects. In all his projects, James Jenkins visually explains his approach and it gave me the idea to give some explanations, although the majority of you, you know much more than me with photography software.
If all these photos in this project have their original color, I cropped some photos. For the next five images, you see on the left the original photo, the place where I cropped and the final photo, right. Sometimes it was the frame, a person, a light in the museum ceiling that lit up too much, and for the funeral mask, I selected a small part of a photo for and that gave the enlargement you saw.
If all these photos in this project have their original color, I cropped some photos. For the next five images, you see on the left the original photo, the place where I cropped and the final photo, right. Sometimes it was the frame, a person, a light in the museum ceiling that lit up too much, and for the funeral mask, I selected a small part of a photo for and that gave the enlargement you saw.
I hope you enjoyed, thanks so much for your visit!
