Napoleon's bicentenary

Magazine Antiques, Dec, 2004 by Miriam Kramer

On December 2, 1804, for the first time in centuries, France had an emperor. The ceremony for Napoleon Bonaparte's coronation was one of the most elaborate ever held anywhere for any occasion.

The setting was the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, which was in itself a political statement, since coronations for the kings of France had almost always been held at Reims Cathedral. There were two masters of ceremonies. Temporary decorations were designed by the architects Charles Percier and Pierre Francois Leonard Fontaine, and the costumes by Jean Baptiste Isabey. Music for the occasion was composed by Giovanni Paisiello and Jean Francois Le Sueur.

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The day was one of pomp, beginning in the morning with a series of processions into the cathedral by deputations from French cities, the military, the legislature, the judiciary, and the Legion d'honneur, which Napoleon had founded on May 19, 1802. Then the papal procession, led by Pope Pius VII, entered the cathedral, followed by the imperial family.

The pope blessed the two crowns, and the ceremony reached its climax when Napoleon crowned himself and his wife Josephine.

This moment was captured on one of four canvases painted by Jacques Louis David on the emperor's instructions. The massive picture, which bears the official title The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I and the Coronation of the Empress Josephine on 2 December 1804, took two years to complete and now hangs in the Musee du Louvre in Paris. It forms the centerpiece of an exhibition at the Louvre marking the bicentenary of Napoleon's consecration that will be on view until January 17, 2005. The sponsor is Chaumet, and the curator is Sylvain Laveissiere. The show is entitled The Consecration of Napoleon Painted by David, and contains some fifty works putting the occasion into historical perspective. An illustrated catalogue in French entitled Le sacre de l'empereur Napoleon: histoire et legende can be ordered by telephoning 33-1-40-20-52-06.

A related exhibition entitled The Treasures of the Fondation Napoleon; Inside the Imperial Court, is on view at the Musee Jacquemart-Andre in Paris until April 3, 2005. It comprises some two hundred objects from the foundation's collection, including pieces from the emperor's personal Sevres dinner service, military objects used by him, and memorabilia from his time in exile on the island of Saint Helena. The star of the show is a previously unpublished study by David for the Consecretion of the Emperor.

The catalogue accompanying the exhibition is published in French and is comprised of essays by a number of contributors. It can be ordered by telephoning 33-1-45-62-11-59.