This portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte was painted by Andrea Appiani in 1801, when the leader was 32 years old. Three years later, he crowned himself Emperor of France. The painting is part of the Napoleon exhibition of more than 200 artworks from the Louvre and other French museums, on display at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts through Sept. 3. Photo by MMFA, Christine Guest

• Share

PRINT

A revolutionary republican who crowns himself Emperor of France — what kind of revolutionary is that?

Whatever our opinions of Napoleon, we can no doubt agree he was an epic figure deserving epic treatment. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ special exhibition, “Napoleon: Power and Splendor,” on view until Sept. 3, accomplishes a treatment befitting an emperor.

Apart from crowning himself Emperor, Napoleon gets huge credit for centralizing the French government, reforming banking and education, supporting the arts and sciences, and streamlining the French legal system, which continues to form the foundation of French civil law today.

After visiting the exhibition that explores the role of the arts in legitimizing Napoleon’s reign, Ashland artist Dan Bartges said, “[It’s] always amazing to be reminded that, every so often, a single individual can become a significant influence on the whole world.”

The making of an emperor

Quite an apparatus was necessary in the late 18th century to create a convincing image of the Frenchman who wanted to be accepted as a competent and confident leader, but also larger-than-life by French citizens. After all, the French had seen a great deal of killing in the wake of the 1789 French Revolution and the Reign of Terror that followed (1793-1794), in which leaders of both the right and left were purged.

Today, we think of branding as a necessary component of success, with one’s “brand” comprising one’s personal and public personas. Celebrities such as Beyonce, Oprah and Ralph Lauren are among those who have used social media, the Internet and traditional media to self-brand themselves and their products.

Given the tumult that preceded him, Napoleon and his republican followers (i.e., anti-monarchists) believed they needed to do something similar. They feared a return to chaos if Napoleon were to become a dictator without a clear line of succession.

So more than two centuries ago, Napoleon Bonaparte set machinery in place to perfect his image, from a republican war hero to emperor.

Creating an emperorship — Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France on Sunday, Dec. 2, 1804, in an elaborate ceremony at Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral — provided for continuation of stable power as he and supporters saw it (his infant son was King of Rome), but also satisfied France’s old-line conservative aristocracy (the Ancien Regime) by providing the trappings of monarchy.

The Emperor became the glue cementing together two large segments of French society.

Exhibition curators have linked the significant public life of the self-titled emperor to his private world, a “state within a state,” according to Nathalie Bondil, director general and chief curator at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. That museum’s staff conceived, produced and circulated the exhibition, with the participation of the Musee National du Chateau de Fontainebleau and the support of Mobilier National de France.

Works from the Louvre, the Chateau de Fontainebleau, the Musee de l’Armee in Paris and other world-class collections comprise the 200-plus artworks and decorative objects in the exhibition, recreating the sumptuous spaces inhabited by Napoleon and his family. Most of them have never been shown in the United States.

In the Emperor’s private world, a cast of thousands in the Imperial Household worked to shape Napoleon’s brand. Members of the household weren’t chosen for the qualities of service they might provide, according to exhibition curator Dr. Sylvain Cordier, curator of early decorative arts at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Rather, they were selected for what the emperor and his inner circle “knew of their aristocratic families and their past history.” Several, for example, had fought in the American Revolutionary War.

Imperial household members not only oversaw nearly every detail of Napoleon’s daily life, but also the organization of sacred and secular ceremonies.

The exhibition’s eight sections examine the art of portraiture, the roles of the six Grand Offices of the Imperial Household, and how Napoleon lived during his final days in exile. Each gallery corresponds to the roles of the leading figures employed to attend to the needs of Napoleon and his family.

The Emperor’s image

The exhibition opens with a series of portraits and historical scenes highlighting the ways in which various artists created portraits of Napoleon to correlate to particular notions of power.

From the three-quarter life-size official portrait of Napoleon by Francois-Pascal-Simon Gerard to paintings by Antoine-Jean Gros and Andrea Appiani, depictions of the French Emperor represented various stages of his career.

The other sections — the Grand Equerry and Grand Master of the Hunt, the Grand Chaplain, the Grand Marshall of the Palace, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, the Grand Chamberlain, and the Imperial Household in Exile — reinforce the Emperor’s image through displays such as weapons with imperial provenance that place Napoleon within a long lineage of French rulers.

Wow factors in every room

One of the wow factors in the exhibition is the display of six monumental silver-gilt candlesticks and a crucifix created for the spectacular wedding of Napoleon and Archduchess Marie-Louise at the Tuileries Palace on April 2, 1810.

Visitors need to imagine the 11-foot tall candles sitting upon the candlesticks, as neither VMFA nor other museum venues for the exhibition have ceilings sufficiently high to accommodate them. And “fake candles would just detract from the artistry of the craftsmanship,” Cordier said.

The stunning show of porcelain throughout the exhibition — such as exquisite pieces made by the Sevres Imperial Manufactory as part of Napoleon’s chief dinner service — remind visitors that the emperor influenced the return of luxury goods, which had been in decline after the Revolution.

Noteworthy in the exhibition’s final section, exploring Napoleon’s last years in exile on the remote island of Saint Helena, are an intimate portrait of Napoleon’s nieces in exile in Brussels by Jacques-Louis David; a remarkable birdcage that the emperor commissioned during his exile; and a poignant death portrait by a British officer, who was part of the military detail charged with guarding Napoleon in his final years.

The exhibition uses a form of technology called “digital mapping” to project images and special effects (leaves moving as in a breeze, for example) onto the rich green, red and blue backgrounds of four different scenes.

The digital effect that lingers longest with visitors is the one at the end — a slow, relentless blue wave of water that lends the feeling of cold melancholy and sadness, apropos Napoleon’s exile on Saint Helena. The third movement of Beethoven’s piano sonata No. 31 in A-flat major (1821) plays somberly as visitors exit the wave and the exhibition.

The VMFA is located at 200 N. Blvd., Richmond. Tickets to the exhibit are $16 for adults, $12 for those 65 and older, and $10 for youth ages 7-17 and college students with ID. Admission is free for VMFA members, children 6 and under, and active-duty military personnel and their immediate families.

The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours until 9 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays.

Visitors can reserve tickets online at www.vmfa.museum or by phone at (804) 340-1405.

Special events for the exhibit

Image Makers: Masters of Self-Branding and Their Impact on Culture
Friday, July 20, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Leslie Cheek Theatre, $8 (VMFA members, $5)

Terry Melville, founder of the Betty Creative Awards and former vice president/fashion director for Macy’s New York, and Freddie Leiba, creative director, fashion editor and stylist, explore the concept of self-branding, and how famous personalities who have used it affect culture as Napoleon did during the early 19th century.

Desiree (1954 movie)
Sunday, August 12, 1:30 to 4 p.m., $8 (VMFA members $5)

With richly designed sets and costumes, this highly speculative historical tableau posits that the rise and fall of Napoleon rested on his unrequited love for an alluring millinery clerk, Desiree Clary. The film stars Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons and Merle Oberon as Josephine. Discussion follows with Dr. Mitchell Merling, VMFA Paul Mellon curator and head of the European art department.

Six Degrees of Napoleon: The Power of Splendor
Tuesday, August 7, 11 to 11:30 a.m. and Thursday, August 9, 6:30 to 7 p.m., free

How do powerful individuals assert their power and prestige? Napoleon’s careful construction of his imperial image invites comparisons with the visual symbols and images used by other rulers in different times and places. Discover what happens when visual symbols clash with real-world events. With Twyla Kitts, VMFA teacher program coordinator.

Napoleon’s Military & Political Rise to Power
Friday, August 17, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Leslie Cheek Theatre, $8 (VMFA members, $5)

From obscure origins, Napoleon Bonaparte rose rapidly through the ranks of the army during the first years of the French Revolution, becoming a general by age 25. This talk, examines Napoleon’s early military career and challenges the myth that his dramatic rise epitomizes the revolutionary principle of “careers open to talent.”