| |
Napoleon exhibit in Philly features more than 300 objects
|
|
| |
|
| |
 |
|
|
Napoleon exhibit opens in Philadelphia |
Almost two centuries after Napoleon Bonaparte met his Waterloo, all
many people may know about him is that he was short. Except he
wasn't, really.
The life of the Corsica-born military genius who rose from obscurity
to command the armies of France and conquer much of Europe before
ending his life in lonely exile is celebrated in "Napoleon," an
exhibition at the National Constitution Center through Sept. 7.
The exhibition features more than 300 objects from the life of the
military leader, drawn from the extensive collection of Pierre-Jean
Chalencon and ranging from the earliest known letter he penned at
age 14, detailing his daily schedule, to the monogrammed shirt and
long johns he wore shortly before his death.
Chalencon said Napoleon's rise from obscurity to greatness can serve
as an example to young people.
Napoleon, he said, "was a self-made man ... and for young people, to
see this guy made it himself, maybe at the end of the show they want
to do something themselves."
Visitors can see a lock of Napoleon's hair -- snagged by a friend as
the amused emperor-in-exile sat getting a haircut -- and one of the
brown tresses of his beloved Josephine. They can examine his snuff
box and the sword with which he had himself declared emperor, or
imagine bedding down with the troops beneath the green canopy of his
collapsible camp bed.
And they can see the gilt leather portfolio that carried the signed
Louisiana Purchase, Napoleon's $15 million sale of 828,000 square
miles of the New World to the United States in 1803, which doubled
the size of the young nation at a cost of less than five cents an
acre.
The exhibition traces Napoleon's military exploits in Egypt, his
conquests throughout Europe, his disastrous invasion of Russia, his
first exile to Elba from which he escaped to wage a fierce "Hundred
Days" campaign that ended with his final defeat at Waterloo, and the
melancholy final six years in exile on isolated St. Helena, where he
died in 1821.
A number of portraits on display show Napoleon wearing laurel leaves
in the style of a Roman emperor or even toga-clad and riding in a
chariot. The exhibition contrasts such grandeur with the style of
George Washington, who avoided aristocratic flourishes and retired
after two terms although there was no requirement that he do so.
But as a boy, Napoleon saw parallels between America's war for
independence and his own Corsica's efforts to free itself from
Genoa. "We share the labors of George Washington; we enjoy his
triumphs ... His cause is that of humanity," he once wrote. After
his final defeat, he talked about resettling in the United States
"to live on the produce of the earth and my flocks," and had a book
on "The English's American Troubles" with him in exile.
A painting showing the young Napoleon carrying the colors across the
Arcole Bridge under enemy fire helped build his legend but was an
exercise in political propaganda. According to the exhibition,
Napoleon never led his men across the bridge -- in fact, his advance
on that day was repulsed, his force almost annihilated, and he and
his horse were thrown into a surrounding marsh. Cavalry forces
actually secured the victory two days later.
But Napoleon also had his share of unfair portrayals, derided by his
enemies as short in stature, a jibe that survives in the supposed
"Napoleon complex" of a short person who compensates for feelings of
inferiority by seeking power. In fact, historians say, his 5-foot-6
height was average for the era.
The traveling exhibition, which began in Washington and travels to
Anaheim, Calif., in the fall and to Missouri in November 2010, also
includes perhaps the first portrait of Napoleon in characteristic
pose with right hand stuck into his waistcoat, a fashion in Europe
dating to ancient Roman times.
And there is one of Napoleon's famous bicorne hats, which he wore
parallel to his shoulders so that he could be distinguished from his
officers. The black felt summer model was worn at Napoleon's 1809
Battle of Essling, not a success but one he followed up with a
victory six weeks later at Wagram.
Chalencon said he believes Napoleon might have been forgotten if his
record rested only on his military conquests, but instead he left a
lasting legacy, notably with a civil code that has influenced legal
systems around the world and with efforts to foster education and
culture.
Napoleon himself may have provided his best epitaph in a remark he
made in exile, according to Chalencon: "In 200 years, people will
think about what I did."
| |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Shortlist Announced for this Year's Aspect Prize - Scotland's Premier Painting Award
(June 29th, 2009) |
| |
'Realism' rubbery idea in French art show in Brazil
(June 29th, 2009) |
| |
New art gallery opens in Ilfracombe with auction of lifeboat painting
(June 18th, 2009) |
| |
Gareth Thomas: Painting from the eye of the storm
(June 18th, 2009) |
| |
Sarah Palin Nude Painting
(June 14th, 2009) |
| |
Pinoy artist to lead community mural painting in NY
(June 14th, 2009) |
| |
Mona Lisa Nude, Huh?
(June 14th, 2009) |
| |
Columbia Museum of Art to Unveil Freshly Designed Galleries in July
(May 24, 2009) |
| |
James A. Michener Art Museum to exhibit "Images of American Life"
(May 24, 2009) |
| |
Washington's National Gallery of Art museum will get Soutine painting on loan
(May 24, 2009) |
| |
Jewish childhood in Poland before the Holocaust
(May 20, 2009) |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Art News - Google search |
| |
|
| |
Art News - Swiss show van Gogh's landscapes in major exhibit
May 20th, 2009
- Vincent
van Gogh preferred painting portraits and figures, but it
was his landscapes that sparked a revolution in art.
More |
| |
Art News - Two Manet Master Paintings Reunited at the National Gallery of Art
May 17th, 2009
- Edouard
Manet's powerful Ragpicker (c. 1865–1869), a loan from The Norton
Simon Foundation in Pasadena, California, will join one of the
National Gallery of Art's great masterworks by Manet,
More |
| |
Art News - What Price a Museum's Founder? $25,000 to $35,000
May 14th, 2009
- The Montclair Art
Museum's spring cleaning project has been one public relation
disaster after another. And here's the latest, as reported in
today's Star Ledger: one of the paintings being sold through
Christie's is a portrait of the museum's founder, William B.
Dickson.
More |
| |
Art News - CANDIDA HÖFER
May 14th, 2009
- CANDIDA HÖFER at Museum Morsbroich: 16 May - 2 August 2009 PROJECTS: DONE is curated by Markus Heinzelmann and Doreen Mende.
More |
| |
Art News - Art Institute of Chicago’s massive extension opens on Saturday
May 14th, 2009
- CHICAGO. The Art Institute of Chicago has completed a stunning new building designed by the architect Renzo
Piano to house one of the finest collections of 20th-century art in
the United States.
More |
| |
Art News - Copied Paintings Plague Vietnam's Museum
May 1st, 2009 -
The Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts, the country's national art museum. Copied Paintings Plague Vietnam's Museum. More |
| |
Art News - Boston Celebrates Venice Masters
March 1st, 2009 -
New York, March 12 - Boston's Museum of Fine Arts has gathered works by three masters of the Venetian Renaissance, Titian, Tintoretto and
Paolo Veronese, for a groundbreaking new show opening this week. More |
| |
Art News - Forum Gallery exhibits the Psychologically Compelling Paintings by Paul Fenniak
February 26, 2009 -
In his New York
Times review of Fenniak’s debut exhibition at Forum Gallery, Ken
Johnson described the Artist’s painting as having "a genuinely
haunting, cinematic monumentality. More |
| |
Art News - Major Museum Retrospective of Dan Christensen's Paintings Offers New Assessment
February 22, 2009 -
Christensen’s works of art are in public and private collections around the world, and paintings for this exhibition were culled from his estate; Museum of Modern Art, New York;. More |
| |
Art News - Washington painting in NY Gets New Frame, touchup
February 16, 2009 - A recently discovered photograph showing Emanuel Leutze's
'Washington Crossing the Delaware' with an elaborate border during
an 1864 exhibition inspired the Metropolitan Museum of Art to
replace the plain frame. More |
