On 30 September, 2010 the National Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, will host a “blockbuster” exhibit examining the lives of Napoleon, Karl XIV Johan (French Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, whom the Swedish translate into Engish as Charles John), and Czar Alexander I. Featuring a wealth of historical artifacts and fine artisan wares, the exhibition is all about the art of governing through art. The exhibit was assembled by the National Museum in Stockholm and the Hermitage in St Petersburg, Russia. Many other both public and private collections have contributed. There are over 400 items featured.
This is one of the largest exhibits the National Museum in Stockholm has ever mounted, so they are very proud of it and have pulled out all the stops! I had the good fortune to get a private tour of the entire exhibit the weekend before the opening and can testify to its “blockbuster” status. It is a magnificent exhibit featuring items in all areas of interest including sumptuous decorative items, uniforms, weapons, documents, court costumes, royal items (crowns, sceptres, etc), stunning jewellery, medals and recreated living spaces. Something for everyone with an interest in the period!
Napoleon, Karl Johan and Alexander were all skilful propagandists who knew how to use art to reflect their self-image and demonstrate the legitimacy of their claim to power. The exhibition focuses on how these three rulers influenced art and were, in turn, influenced by art.
Napoleon, by simple virtue of being by far the most famous of the three, gets top billing (Napoleon sells tickets), but naturally, since the exhibit is led by the National Museum in Stockholm (the House of Bernadotte still rules there) and the Hermitage in St Petersburg, he is cast as the bad guy. One gets some warning of this in the splendid official exhibit catalogue in the opening chapter which is titled, In the Age of the Beast with a full page picture of David's Bonaparte Crossing the St Bernard Pass right next to that not-so-subtle lead-in.
But therein lies one of the strengths of the exhibit. It draws in large part on the private and state collections of the Royal Family of Sweden and the Russian State collections. Many of these items have never been on display before or have not been available for viewing in the West for generations. For this reason alone you should make the effort to visit the exhibit!
Part of the reason for the exhibit is because 2010 marks the bicentenary of the Bernadotte ascent to the throne of Sweden. As most of you know, the present King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, descends directly from Marshal of France, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. No favourite of Napoleon, his service to France ended in 1810, when he was elected the heir to the Swedish throne because the old Swedish royal family was dying out with King Charles XIII. He was elected partly because a large part of the Swedish Army, in view of future complications with Russia, were in favour of electing a soldier, and partly because Bernadotte was also very popular in Sweden, owing to the kindness he had shown to the Swedish prisoners during the recent war with Denmark.
In a perverse twist of history, you may also know that the present Swedish King and his family descend, in addition, directly from Empress Josephine. King Karl XIV Johan's (Bernadotte's) first and only son Oscar I, married Princess Josephine of Leuchtenberg, who happened to be the daughter of Eugene de Beauharnais and his wife Princess Augusta of Bavaria. Empress Josephine was thus the Great-Grandmother of the future King of Sweden.
But the link to Napoleon doesn't stop there. Bernadotte was married to Desiree Clary (who can forget Brando as Napoleon in the film Desire?), one of the young Buonaparte's first girlfriends, whilst her sister, Julie Clary, was married to Joseph Bonaparte, the King of Spain and Napoleon's older brother!
Among the Bernadotte items featured are his Maréchal de France uniform, Marshal's baton, sword worn by him as Maréchal, full length portrait, Eugene de Beauharnais' dress coat – the so-called “Small Coronation” dress –, and his daughter Josephine's magnificent Jacob-Desmalter made cradle. There is also Queen Desiree's court train worn at Napoleon's coronation as well as a number of items that once belonged to Empress Josephine, including many of her jewels.
Some of the most impressive sections of the exhibit are those loaned by the Hermitage in Russia, of which there are many. One gets a close inside look into the life of Czar Alexander and into the 1812 French invasion of Russia. Among them are several of Alexander's uniforms (I was struck at how tiny he was and how narrow his waist was – men wore corsets then!), his medals, swords and hats.
There are also items that were left behind by the invading French armies and captured by the Russians. These include French Eagles, Maréchal Davout's baton and Maréchal Ney's maréchal uniform.
Of particular interest are several items which belonged to Joseph Fouché, all of which are in a private collection (so this may be your only opportunity to view them). These include his official uniform as Duc d'Otrante, with medals, his rapier and a ¾ length portrait.
I haven't said enough about the decorative and art works in the exhibit. These crowd the exhibit and include stunning full length oils of the Bernadottes, Clarys, Bonapartes, Murat, and others, and many candelabra, tableware, dinner services and vases. Notably, nearly all of these were made by the French decorative arts industry which was revived, under Napoleon's direction, after their collapse during the Revolution.
In spring 2011, the exhibit is scheduled to travel to the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia. There is also some chance that it will then follow to one of the French Paris-area properties (perhaps Fountainbleau or Versailles).
One last note: as already mentioned, the exhibit comes with a massive official exhibition catalogue which includes history, commentary, photos and descriptions of all the displayed items.
Filed by Director Alfonso A Alejo October 15th 2010.
"Staging Power – Napoleon, Karl XIV Johan, Czar Alexander"
Author(s) : ALEJO Alfonso A.