Napoléon Bonaparte, most renowned for his military leadership, was also one of the era’s most important and influential patrons of the arts. The Eye of Napoléon takes a deeper look into the Emperor’s impact on the art and tastes of his time. It does so through the lens of the Emperor’s personal life and the lavish gifts he bestowed upon those whom he loved and respected. This exhibition allows us to see Napoléon the collector, Napoléon the arts patron and Napoléon the dutiful son, the loving husband and the generous benefactor of a large and extended family.
Dr. Bernard Chavallier, former Director and Curator of the Château de Malmaison, who is the exhibition curator, has described the works in the exhibition as representing France’s finest artists and craftsmen. They include creations by Canova, Gérard, Houdon, Prud’hon, Gros, David and Sèvres, Aubusson and the other grand luxury houses of France. To reflect the multifaceted nature of Napoléon’s commissions, the exhibition spans a wide range of media including paintings, drawings, sculptures, porcelain objects, silverware, books and exceptional jewelry. These were the masterpieces of Napoléon’s First Empire, created in a style that is known today as the Empire Style.
The extraordinary works in this exhibition have been selected from the personal collection of Pierre-Jean Chalençon, Napoléon expert and art collector, who has assembled one of the world’s finest and most comprehensive private collections of art and artifacts from the Napoléonic era. The Eye of Napoléon features two hundred of Chalençon’s finest objects.
The tour begins October 2012 and will be available to US and the greater international museum community; call today to reserve your spot.
