HAPPY EASTER for all of my readers

Fabergé Egg - First Imperial (Hen) Egg (1885),
 presented by Alexander III to Maria Fyodorovna

First-Hand Descriptions of Napoleon

First-Hand Descriptions of Napoleon

By Tom Holmberg

Napoleon was 5 feet 6½ inches tall, average height at the time. In his early years he was quite lean and only after 1806 did he become heavy. In his younger years he was often described as sickly in appearance, his skin having a yellowish pallor. He had fine white teeth, which he was proud. His nose was slightly curved, with a "sharp and delicate modelling, [but] was less prominent than one is inclined to suppose from the evidence of his portraits." His eyes, deep-set, were reportedly gray or gray-blue. 

Chateaubriand described him, during the Consulate: "His face made a favourable impression on me, for up to now I had seen him only in the distance. His smile is friendly and winning, his eyes wonderful, especially in the way they are set deep under his forehead and overshadowed by his eyebrows. There is nothing of the charlatan in his appearance, nothing theatrical or artificial....An extraordinary imagination animated this cold politician; lacking the inspiration of this Muse, he could never have attained such heights."

Mary Berry also saw Napoleon in 1802, stating that his 'mouth, when speaking...has a remarkable and uncommon expression of sweetness. His eyes are light grey, and he looks full in the face of the person to whom he speaks. To me always a good sign.'

charles-von-steuben-napoleons-hats

In the same year, an Englishwoman, Fanny Burney, described his face being 'of a deeply impressive cast, pale even to sallowness, while not only in the eye but in every feature-care, thought, melancholy and meditation are so strongly marked, with so much of character, nay, genius, and so penetrating a seriousness, or rather sadness, as powerfully to sink into an observer's mind.' She also described his demeanor as 'more the air of a student than a warrior.' 

Read all: napoleon-series.org/research/napoleon/c_description

Old pictures of Paris

1798, première Exposition au Champ de Mars à Paris.

A partir de ce moment, les Expositions allaient se succéder rapidement, leur importance allant toujours croissant.

1798, 1801, 1802, 1806, 1819, 1823, 1827, 1834, 1839, 1844, 1849... puis en 1855, la douzième et première Exposition universelle en France. lemog3d.blogspot 

L'idée des Expositions universelles est née en France, la première aurait dû avoir lieu en 1849, mais à la suite des événements politiques de l'époque qui troublèrent le pays, le projet traversa la Manche pour donner deux ans plus tard la naissance à Londres de la première Expositions universelle de 1851.

Madame de Staël

  

Books as foodle-chateau-de-coppet

Anne Louise Germaine Necker was born in 22 April 1766 in Paris, France. Her father was the prominent Swiss banker and statesman Jacques Necker, who was the Director of Finance under King Louis XVI of France. 

 

wiki/Suzanne_Curchod

Her mother was Suzanne Curchod, almost equally famous for being the early love of Edward Gibbon, 

wiki/Edward_Gibbon

Being the wife of Necker herself, and being the mistress of one of the most popular salons of Paris. 

wiki/Jacques_Necker

Mother and daughter had little sympathy for each other. Mme Necker, despite her talents, her beauty and her fondness for philosophic society, was strictly decorous, somewhat reserved, and wanted to bring up her daughter with the discipline of her own childhood. Anne Louise was from her earliest years energetic and boisterous. She began very early to write, though not to publish. She was said to have injured her health by excessive study and intellectual excitement. But in reading all the accounts of Mme de Staël's life which come from herself or her intimate friends, it must be carefully remembered that she was the most distinguished and characteristic product of the period of sensibility — the singular fashion of ultra-sentimentalism — which required that both men and women, but especially women, should be always palpitating with excitement, steeped in melancholy, or dissolved in tears. Still, her father's dismissal from the ministry and the consequent removal of the family from the busy life of Paris were probably beneficial to her.

During part of the next few years, they resided in the Swiss village of Coppet at the Château de Coppet, her father's estate on Lake Geneva, which she herself made famous. But other parts were spent in travelling, chiefly in southern France. They returned to Paris, or at least to its neighborhood, in 1785, and Mlle Necker resumed writing miscellaneous works, including a novel, Sophie, printed in 1786, and a tragedy, Jeanne Grey, published in 1790.

 Read on: wiki/Germaine_de_Stael

Women in (pre) Napoleontic times

The Revolution of 1789 was, as we know, not a single revolution at all. It was at least a half dozen revolutions, each kicking at the heels of the one before it. The last was, in fact, Napoleonic. In 1799 he and his colleagues of Brumaire revolutionized France with the Consulate and later with the Empire. "The revolution is over," Napoleon had remarked in his statement to the people of France in December 1799. He was the revolution. He had brought order out of chaos.
As the events of the Revolution unfolded in 1789, women continued their pre-revolutionary public presence. Some even managed to make their grievances known to the king in unofficial cahiers de doléances when he requested suggestions for reframing French affairs. They demanded that some categories of jobs be reserved solely for women, that job training be provided, and that strict measures be taken against prostitution. Divorce, the right to wear trousers (pantalons), the right to vote, and a double tax on bachelors rounded out their lists. At least one woman participated actively in the fall of the Bastille, and when the economic malaise of the summer of 1789 continued into autumn, street savvy female activists and other less likely malcontents marched to the halls of government at Versailles. According to reports, after they promised good behavior, the women milled around, sat in the president's chair, chanted and interrupted the debate. The Journal de Paris reported that while they wore elegant clothing, hunting knives and half swords hung from their belts. Among the alleged heroines was Théroigne de Méricourt, the amazone who popularized women's battle dress: Turkish trousers or bloomers (although the word bloomers was not used until the mid-nineteenth century), a red riding habit, and pistols and a sword at her waist. 

theroigne-de-mericourt-

 

wiki/Olympe_de_Gouges

To Olympe de Gouges, a provincial actress who had relocated in Paris, the revolution had missed its mark. Paralleling the primary document of revolutionary ideology, she wrote: "Woman is born free and lives equal to man in her rights…." She continued, "man, are you capable of being just? It is a woman who poses the question. Tell me, what gives you the sovereign empire to oppress my sex?" If a woman could mount to the guillotine to feel its blade, she should equally have the right to vote.

By 1800 as Napoleon solidified his base of power and defined the roles of those around him, he began to make clear what he believed women's roles should be. Mme de Staël bore the brunt of some of his earliest comments. When she asked him "What woman, dead or alive, do you consider to be the greatest?" he replied, "The one who has had the most children."
 The family, of course, became a recurring theme of his government. Even when the family was not at the base of his comments, he was systematically blunt in his remarks. When Mme de Staël was presented in one of her more décolletage dresses, prior to his establishing a more decorous style for fashion, he caught her off guard and silenced her with "no doubt you have nursed your children yourself."

And finally, there was Joséphine herself, widely regarded as one of the most attractive women of her day. For all of the peccadilloes of her early years, she was also indispensable in consolidating his empire. What Napoleon  wanted was splendor, glory, gilt if not gold, and glamour: "Nothing is beautiful unless it is large. Vastness and immensity can make you forget a great many defects." His vastness was the creation of a new nobility that he intended to be unrivaled. Around Empress Joséphine a certain cult was born. Everyone wanted to know where she found her garments, where her hair was coiffed, and from where her jewels came. Au Grand Turc became the rage for silk scarves. Her perfumer was A la Cloche d'Argent, and only the best lace from Chantilly and Brussels would do. But when Joséphine did not bear him the child that he so desired, Napoleon found no difficulty in moving on. "All being said," he wrote at St. Helena, "I like only those people who are useful to me, and only so long as they are useful."napoleon/files/ 
wiki/Madame_de_Stael

The House on the Rue de la Victoire

By Ira Grossman Once upon a time 200 years ago, Napoleon and Josephine lived in a house in Paris’ Rue de la Victoire. It was the only house Napoleon owned as a private citizen. As a landmark, it had a long and colorful history behind it. It was also the scene of several memorable events in the career of this fascinating couple, including one of the earliest encounters between General Bonaparte and Josephine de Beauharnais.

The House on the Rue de la Victoire

Napoleon first visited his future wife here at this location on October 15, 1795, according to historian Maurice Guerrini. Proctor Patterson Jones, the editor of Napoleon : An Intimate Account of the Years of Supremacy, wrote, he visited this house “presumably to congratulate the mother of a young man, Eugene de Beauharnais, who had come to Napoleon to request the sword of his father which had been confiscated during the Revolution.” Napoleon was obviously captivated by Eugene’s mother, and became a frequent visitor after that first visit. The house was then known as the Hotel de Beauharnais and it’s street address was No. 6, Rue Chantereine. Interestingly, the street got its name from the frogs that inhabited a marsh nearby. This house later became the scene of several memorable events such as the launching of Napoleon’scoup d’etat of the 18th Brumaire in November 9, 1799 and the marriage between his brother Louis and his step-daughter Hortense.

Read more on: Napoleon-series/napoleon/house

Insolite : Napoléon Bonaparte a habité le 9e arrondissement !

ADRESSE

47 rue de la Victoire

En vous promenant rue de la Victoire, à la hauteur des n° 47 à 51, vous tomberez devant un panneau de la Ville de Paris qui marque l’emplacement de l’ancien hôtel Chantereine, où résidèrent Joséphine de Beauharnais et le jeune général Bonaparte en 1796...

La rue de la Victoire ne prit ce nom qu’en 1797, en l’honneur de la victoire de la campagne d’Italie par Bonaparte. Elle s’appelait autrefois rue Chantereine (où chante la rainette).

Entre 1776 et 1778, l’architecte François-Victor Pérard de Montreuil (voir aussil’hôtel de Botterel-Quintin) construisit, dans un but spéculatif, deux hôtels particuliers : le premier pour le marquis d’Argenson, le deuxième (illustrations 1 et 2) aussitôt loué au marquis de Ségur qui y installa sa maîtresse, l’actrice Julie Carreau. Rappelons qu’à cette époque, l’actuel 9e arrondissement, n’ était encore qu’un faubourg de Paris à la mode et que nombre d’aristocrates y logeaient leur maîtresse, souvent des comédiennes en vue, dans des maisons de campagne communément appelées folies (souvent de la taille d’un pavillon). La rue de la Victoire ne prit ce nom qu’en 1797, en l’honneur de la victoire de la campagne d’Italie par Bonaparte. Elle s’appelait autrefois rue Chantereine (où chante la rainette).

Entre 1776 et 1778, l’architecte François-Victor Pérard de Montreuil (voir aussil’hôtel de Botterel-Quintin) construisit, dans un but spéculatif, deux hôtels particuliers : le premier pour le marquis d’Argenson, le deuxième (illustrations 1 et 2) aussitôt loué au marquis de Ségur qui y installa sa maîtresse, l’actrice Julie Carreau. Rappelons qu’à cette époque, l’actuel 9e arrondissement, n’ était encore qu’un faubourg de Paris à la mode et que nombre d’aristocrates y logeaient leur maîtresse, souvent des comédiennes en vue, dans des maisons de campagne communément appelées folies (souvent de la taille d’un pavillon).

En 1795, Jospéhine de Beauharnais loue cet hôtel à Julie Carreau, qui en avait fait l’acquisition. En 1796, Napoélon Bonaparte, après son mariage avec Joséphine, s’y installe et y loge notamment le 9 mars 1796, avant de repartir en Italie rejoindre son armée.

En mars 1798, Napoléon Bonaparte acquiert l’hôtel Chantereine auprès de Julie Carreau. La légende dit que le coup d’Etat du 18 Brumairea été organisé dans cet hôtel après son retour d’Egypte.A partir du 11 novembre 1799, après son coup d’Etat, Bonaparte s’installe au Petit Luxembourg. Il offre en 1806 l’hôtel Chantereine à son aide de camp, Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes (l’épouse de celui-ci, Marie Rolier est la fille de l’intendant de Madame Mère). En 1862, lors de l’ouverture de la rue de Châteaudun, l’hôtel Chantereine sera détruit. La frise mythologique du salon a toutefois été conservée au musée de la Malmaison.Aujourd’hui, le nom Chantereine n’a pas totalement disparu du paysage du 9e arrondissement. En effet, n’hésitez pas à entrer dans la cour du n° 39 rue de Châteaudun : la grille d’entrée porte encore le nom "Bains Chantereine". Au fond subsistent un corps de logis et deux ailes avec un joli décor de colonnes et de corniche dorique. Il s’agit de l’ancien Théâtre Olympique, construit en 1796 par Louis-Emmanuel Damesme. A partir de 1807, ce lieu devint une salle de bal et de concerts avant d’être transformé par l’architecte François Delanoy (auteur de la galerie Vivienne) en établissement de bains. C’est aujourd’hui le cadre d’un établissement proposant des activités de ralaxation : Qee. La cour des Bains Chantereine, qui communiquait autrefois avec la rue Chantereine (rue de la Victoire), est restée très pittoresque et nous replonge au début du XIXe siècle.

Franck Beaumont. Sources : Guide du Promeneur 9e, La Nouvelle-Athènes. Insolite-Napoleon-Bonaparte-a-habite-le-9e-arrondissement

Pauline Foures: Napoleon's Cleopatra

Born Pauline Bellisle in southern France on 15 March 1778, Pauline was the daughter of a clockmaker, Henri Jacques-Clement Bellisle. She worked as a milliner until she met Jean-Noel Foures a cavalryman on sick leave from the fighting in the Pyrennes. They were soon married, but their honeymoon was cut short by Foures' call-up for the Egyptian campaign. Wives and mistresses were not to accompany the expedition, but, desperate not to be parted, Pauline disguised herself in a Chasseurs' uniform and sneaked aboard the transport ship, La Lucette. The Foures were not the only ones to do this, in fact there were many wives, lovers, and mistresses accompanying the French army to Egypt. 


Pauline remained undetected throughout the voyage and landed with the rest of the regiment at Alexandria. It is difficult to believe that, confined on board a transport ship for 54 days, the couple was able to avoid raising any suspicion. Pauline was to prove very popular with the officers in Egypt, and no doubt her charm, and the chance for some female company, however platonic it may be, caused any suspicious officers to turn a blind eye to her presence. Pauline finally arrived in Cairo on 30 July 1798, with her husband. Finally, she was able to discard her uniform and dress once again as a woman. Though she had only a few dresses, her company was much sought after; to the distaste and anger of her jealous husband 

Pauline's blond hair, her slim petite figure and her perfect smile immediately attracted the attentions of Napoleon. Introductions were made and they chatted awkwardly for a while before Bonaparte, conscious of the many eyes watching them, brought the conversation to an end and left. He was infatuated with Pauline and was determined to make her his as soon as possible. Pauline was not to be won over easily though. She was loyal to her husband, either through love or fear — Foures was an extremely jealous and short-tempered man.

/wiki/Louis-Alexandre_Berthier

On 17 December 1798, Berthier called for Lieutenant Foures and gave him his orders. He was to travel to Paris and deliver a parcel of dispatches to the Directory, await any reply and then return to Egypt as soon as possible. Foures requested that he be given time for his wife to pack before leaving. Berthier, trying hard not to give anything away, informed him that he must leave immediately and, as the Army did not recognise wives in Egypt, he would travel alone to Paris. Foures bade farewell to his wife and was on his way to Alexandria within a few hours. Pauline was now free from her husband's jealousies and Bonaparte wasted little time in pursuing her.

The same evening, Bonaparte invited Pauline to a dinner party at his lodgings along with a variety of officers and ladies. Pauline was seated at his right hand and Bonaparte could hardly take his eyes off her. She was as charming as ever, no doubt revelling in the attentions of Bonaparte, and the freedom her husband's absence granted her. During the meal, a carafe of water was spilt over Pauline, soaking her dress. Bonaparte quickly came to her aid, offering his quarters for her to "repair the damage". Calling for a lamp, he led the way to his bedroom; the couple were gone for almost an hour. The other guests were not surprised or shocked by their absence, Bonaparte's feelings for Pauline were common knowledge as were hers for him.

The following day, Pauline left her lodgings and was installed in a villa in Esbekiya Square, close to Bonaparte's quarters. She became his companion, and travelled with him wherever he went. Pauline dressed in a general's uniform and wore a tricolour sash as a bonnet. She spent her time entertaining Bonaparte's senior officers, organising picnics in the desert, excursions to the Pyramids, dinner parties, and receptions. She was Bonaparte's hostess and she played the role with vigour and delight. She would ride about Cairo to the cheers of the troops who had nicknamed her "Clioupatre" or "La Generale".
----------------------------------------
Bonaparte and Pauline were obviously in love. Unlike Josephine, Pauline was happy simply to be his mistress and Bonaparte wished nothing more than for her to bear him a child; something Josephine appeared unable, or unwilling to do. He was more determined than ever that he would divorce Josephine. Whether or not he would then marry Pauline was something he kept to himself, but a child would no doubt have influenced his decision. However, there still remained the small matter of Lieutenant Foures, and he was to return rather sooner than either Bonaparte or Pauline had expected.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pauline Foures, one of the longest surviving participants in Bonaparte's Egyptian adventure, led a colourful later life. She was a painter, a harp player, wrote two novels, startled the residents of Craponne by taking her small dog to Mass on Sundays and, in 1816 married an ex-guards officer and moved to Brazil to sell exotic wood to France. In 1837, she finally returned to Paris and lived in an apartment surrounded by monkeys.
Pauline died in 1869, probably the oldest survivor of Napoleon's Egyptian campaign. She may not have been one of Napoleon's longest serving mistresses but without doubt, she was certainly one of the most colourful. napoleon/biographies/c_foures

 

wiki/Jean_Baptiste_Kleber

Sadly, it wasn’t to last. Just two months after Pauline’s divorce, Napoleon headed off with this troops to Syria and refused to let her accompany him, instead preferring to send to her the passionate and somewhat mortifyingly intimate love letters that he had once delighted in sending to Joséphine. They resumed their affair as soon as he came back to Cairo, but things were never to be quite the same as Napoléon was already looking forward to returning to France and had decided not to take Pauline back with him. 

Pauline and Napoleon said goodbye to each other in August 1799. She was unaware that he was not planning to return and his last act was to consign her to the case of General Kleber, whereupon they promptly jumped into bed with each other. madame-pauline-foures-napoleons-cleopatra/

'I know it already, sir.

Napoleon began his education at a boys' school in Ajaccio. Then, at age ten, he was allowed to enter French military schools for aristocrats and was sent in 1779, with his older brother Joseph, to the College of Autun in Burgundy, France. 

le-lycee-joseph-bonaparte
 

Napoleon later transferred to the College of Brienne, another French military school. While at school in France, he was made fun of by the other students for his lower social standing and because he spoke Spanish and did not know French well. His small size earned him the nickname of the "Little Corporal." Despite this teasing, Napoleon received an excellent education. When his father died, Napoleon led his household. Napoleon-Bonaparte
wiki/Lyc.militaire_d'Autun

By dint of solicitation he had secured a place among the free pupils of the college at Autun for his son Joseph, the oldest of the family, and one for Napoleon at the military school at Brienne. To enter the school at Brienne, it was necessary to be able to read and write French, and to pass a preliminary examination in that language. This young Napoleon could not do; indeed, he could scarcely have done as much in his native Italian.  A preparatory school was necessary, then, for a time.  The place settled on was Autun, where Joseph was to enter college, and there in January, 1779, Charles Bonaparte arrived with the two boys. 

Napoleon was nine and a half years old when he entered the school at Autun.  He remained three months, and in that time made sufficient progress to fulfil the requirements at Brienne.  The principal record of the boy's conduct at Autun comes from Abbe Chardon, who was at the head of the primary department.  He says of his pupil: 

 "Napoleon brought to Autun a sombre, thoughtful character.  He was interested in no one, and found his amusements by himself.  He rarely had a companion in his walks.  He was quick to learn, and quick of apprehension in all ways.  When I gave him a lesson, he fixed his eyes upon me with parted lips; but if I recapitulated anything I had said, his interest was gone, as he plainly showed by his manner.  When reproved for this, he would answer coldly, I might almost say with an imperious air, 'I know it already, sir.'" history-world.org/Napoleon

La maison natale de Napoléon Bonaparte

linternaute/maison-bonaparte

 

 

La maison natale de Napoléon Bonaparte donne au visiteur l'occasion d'admirer le mobilier familial datant de la fin du XVIIIe siècle, ainsi que des souvenirs, des armes, des portraits, mais également des documents relatifs à Napoléon et à ses parents, en Corse.

La famille Bonaparte arrive dans cette maison à la fin du XVIIe siècle, et devient, pièce après pièce, propriétaire de l'ensemble du bâtiment. Elle entreprend alors d'importants travaux. Six des frères et sœurs de Napoléon sont également nés ici. Le prince Victor, héritier de l'impératrice Eugénie, fait don de cette maison à l'Etat. 

Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15 in Ajaccio, Corsica, the second oldest of 8 siblings. His birth occurred just 3 months after the French took over Corsica. As a child, he hated France. His father, Carlo, on the other hand, was a poor French aristocrat. Napoleon didn’t like his father for taking the French side instead of the Corsican side. Letzig, his mother was very strict. She taught the kids sacrifice and discipline. Sometimes Napoleon had to go to bed without supper. Carlo worked very hard so Napoleon could go to the private academy, Brienne, in 1778 which was located in France.  He was very good at math and science. Then he went to a military school in France. 

Ajaccio’s cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and built in 1593, is steps from the Bonaparte house.   

 

 

Napoleon Bonaparte’s Act of Baptism. Archives of Ajaccio (Photos Tomasio) 

 

 

In Corsica, the most famous house is the Maison Bonaparte in Ajaccio where Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769.  According to tradition, his mother, Letizia Ramolino was praying in the nearby cathedral when she felt severe labor pains.  She hurried home, only making it to a first floor parlor where she gave birth to her second son, named Napoleon after an uncle who had died in the Corsican struggle for independence.  
maison-bonaparte-napoleons-birthplace/

The greatest harmony existed in the rue Cerutti.

Pierre Felix Cottrau - The Salon of Hortense de Beauharnais (1783-1837) 

 

In the morning, no visitors were admitted. Hortense and Adele devoted themselves to drawing and painting. They dined alone. In the evening, the doors of the house were thrown open to Hortense's friends. One could enjoy a little music, or one could play billiards and one could always talk. At ten o'clock tea was served, and the conversation was often so enthralling that it was midnight or one in the morning before the party broke up.

 

Hortense had always disliked the stiff pattern of the old-regime salon, a circle of chairs around the fireplace, with seats for the ladies, while the gentlemen stood uncomfortably. There was a big round table in the middle of Hortense's room, at which everyone could sit down and on which books and fancy work could be spread out. The men did not need to wear tight-fitting uniforms; the women did not need to display a complete harness of jewels. The Bonapartes criticized the informality of Hortense's way of entertaining, and she was afraid that the Emperor, with his growing fondness for ceremony, might disapprove, but he only said, "I
hear that at your house you have an open market for wit/' and she knew he would not interfere. Though she had a large reception every Monday and occasionally gave a ball, invitations to Hortense's small evening parties were much sought after.
Hortense would have been glad to live privately, but, as a member of the Emperor's family in good standing, she had to make frequent appearances in public.

 Salon Malmaison

 

Hortense also made frequent trips to La Malmaison, where Josephine kept open housefor her faithful friends, always glad to see her daughter and her grandchildren, to whom, at every

visit, she gave extravagant presents. daughter to Napoleon

.theroyalforums-hortense-de-beauharnais

Eugénie de Montijo

Eugénie de Montijo, as she became known in France, was educated in Paris, at the fashionable Convent of the Sacré Cœur. When Prince Louis Napoléon, son of Hortense de Beauharnais became president of the Second Republic,  

Elysée Palace 

she appeared with her mother at several balls given by the "prince-president" at the Elysée Palace; it was there that she met the future emperor, whom she wed on 30 January 1853. 

Throughout the early 1850s Eugénie and Napoleon played cat and mouse.  He tried to take her arm, she reminded him that her mother took precedence over her, and consigned her frustrated swain to escorting her mother on walks.  She made it clear their was no action without marriage, he sent official emissaries to call on Dona Manuela and Eugénie to inform them that under no circumstances would he be marrying Eugénie.  He sent her completely inappropriate gifts, the sort that men sent mistresses, not women they were courting, sheaccepted them, and reciprocated with…nothing! He invited Eugénie to events specifically engineered to tempt or trick her into an assignation, she stubbornly remained surrounded by chaperones and other men.  At once house party Napoleon is reputed to have asked Eugénie the way to her room (some versions say ‘heart’), to which she coyly replied “through the chapel Sire.” 
allthingsroyal
thedreamstress