Portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte by Ingres As I explained in my last post, in general, the Spanish aren’t fans of Napoleon Bonaparte. In fact, I didn’t find a single portrait of Napoleon in the Prado Museum’s huge collection. The Prado was, however, hosting a travelling exhibition of works by the French painter Ingres (1780-1867). There …
How did Napoleon Bonaparte spend the 2,029 days of his exile on St Helena? After all, the Great Man (or Monster, depending on your point of view) jam-packed his previous forty-six years. At sixteen, he rushed through Paris’ École Militaire to graduate after one year instead of the normal two. In 1798, on his way …
During my travels to do research on Napoleon Bonaparte, I’ve taken hundreds of photographs of Napoleonic sites, art, memorabilia, and related objects. I’ve learned a lot about about military campaigns, geopolitics, and daily life in his times. I’ve become fascinated (and distracted by) the countless characters who surrounded Napoleon, from his birth in Corsica through …
Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on remote St Helena Island on May 5, 1821. His body was laid to rest in this modest site in the island’s Valley of Geraniums. The British government, fearing his influence even from the grave, kept the location carefully guarded. In 1840, Queen Victoria allowed the French to return their …
The 193rd Anniversary of Napoleon Bonaparte’s death Read More »
If you want to mimic Napoleon Bonaparte, just stand straight and hide one hand in your jacket. It’s an immediately recognizable pose and unique to Napoleon, right? Like so many Napoleonic myths, there’s more here than meets the eye. In fact, the one-hand-concealed stance can be traced back to the days of Roman togas and …
What’s with Napoleon putting his hand in his coat? Read More »
Napoleon’s general, and later Marshal of the Empire, Michel Ney was born the son of a cooper (a wooden-barrel maker). Originally a non-commissioned officer, Ney rose through the ranks due to his courageous leadership in battle. Tradition holds that he was the last Frenchman to leave Russian soil during the disastrous retreat from Moscow in …
Poem about Napoleon’s general, Marshal Michel Ney Read More »
I’ve been doing research into Napoleon’s older brother, Joseph Bonaparte―the ex-king of Naples and Spain―and his twenty-year stay in the United States. Along the way, I learned to my surprise that Jacques-Louis David’s grand painting of Napoleon’s coronation (see my recent blog) had visited the United States in 1826. That set me off investigating. I …
When I’m at the Louvre Museum, I seek out Jacques-Louis David’s imposing—if not exactly beautiful—painting of Napoleon and Josephine’s coronation. At thirty-two feet long by twenty feet tall, it’s slightly smaller than Veronese’s The Wedding at Cana, the Louvre’s largest painting. The French refer to it as Le Sacre, but its official name is The …
In March of last year, I was in Paris and Corsica, gathering inspiration at Napoleonic sites. In May, my St Helena trip rounded out my first-hand impressions of Napoleon from youth to dying exile. Now, as I near completion of a draft of my novel, I reflect on what depth those experiences have lent to …
The French don’t have a national museum devoted to Napoleon, but French politician Yves Jégo is proposing to build “Napoleonland,” a theme park based on the legacy of Napoleon and the First Empire. The chosen site is near Disneyland Paris, on the grounds of the 1814 Battle of Montereau, a Napoleonic victory over the Austrians …
A “Napoleonland” Theme Park to Rival Paris Disneyland? Read More »
