British historian Andrew Roberts asserts that his characterization could equally apply to both French president Emmanuel Macron and his predecessor Napoleon Bonaparte.
Nearly 200 years after the battle of Waterloo, where he was exiled and continued to fascinate the UK, the man called Boney Old, Napoleon Bonaparte, died on the remote British-owned South Atlantic island of St. Helena.
However, the Corsican-born Bonaparte divides opinion between those who view him as a despot warmongering genius in political and military matters, and others across the Channel.
A new exhibition, rarely seen, aims to persuade the French to take a fresh look at their former emperor, who was respected and feared by many in Europe for two decades.
The Legend of Napoleon is being staged in the northern French town of Arras, where an extensive collection of Napoleonic furniture, sculptures, and paintings, lent from the Château de Versailles, is often overlooked.
He stated, “It is truly unfortunate in the case of Napoleon. Frequently in France, we struggle to reconcile with our history; disregarding the numerous things we inherited from him, such as his remarkable administrative reorganization. Nevertheless, Bonaparte had an impressive past.” “Many French individuals perceive him as emblematic of a war-mongering, authoritative regime and he is neglected, despite Bonaparte’s extraordinary history,” he expressed. “It is even worse than being hated. He is no longer discussed in schools,” declares Frédéric Lacaille, the curator at Versailles who has overseen the exhibition. He hopes that this exhibition will aid in restoring Bonaparte’s reputation in France and reintroducing him into the school history curriculum.”
France’s Bank upset him and introduced the sewerage road tax, as well as higher education systems, in many parts of the world. His Napoleonic Code defined civil law and addressed everyday concerns at the same time. However, it is important to note that Napoleon did not only conquer a significant portion of the European continent, but also suffered a defeat at Waterloo 20 years before his demise.
In his 2014 biography, “Napoleon the Great,” Roberts asserts that Napoleon played a crucial role in championing, consolidating, codifying, and expanding the ideas that form the foundation of our modern world. These ideas include meritocracy, equality under the law, property rights, religious tolerance, modern secular education, stable finances, and more. Additionally, Napoleon introduced a rational and effective system of local governance, put an end to rural criminal activities, promoted advancements in science and the arts, abolished feudalism, and developed the most comprehensive set of laws since the decline of the Roman empire.
While stationed in the Kremlin, Napoleon established the guidelines for Paris’s Comédie-Française and a boarding school for young girls on the eve of the Borodino battle. The remarkable ability of Napoleon to compartmentalize his thoughts is extensively demonstrated by the 33,000 letters he penned that are still in existence, as stated by Roberts to the Observer.
Napoleon’s extraordinary capacity for micromanaging his empire was also demonstrated by his decision to write a letter to the prefect of Genoa, warning a corporal from the 13th regiment not to drink excessively and not to allow his mistress into the theatre.
The exhibition said Lacaille features a chronological order of portraits, including one of the most famous by David Louis-Jacques, showing the former emperor Napoleon Bonaparte with a white horse rearing, which also reveals his early genius in communication.
Lacaille stated, “Not only the military commander, but we also aimed to portray the individual.” “Moreover, he employed artworks and visuals to convey his message, evident even in his early pieces.”
Louis-Philippe, the Orleanist monarch, gathered Napoleon’s assortment at the majestic palace of Versailles, overshadowing Bonaparte, who struggled to hinder the resurgence of the Bourbon monarchy and is frequently known as a progeny of the French Revolution, as few connect Lacaille mentioned.
“Currently, France is not particularly fond of Napoleon Bonaparte, but this sentiment will not endure,” Lacaille expressed.
Napoleon: Depictions of the Myth. From October 7th, 2017 to November 18th, 2018, the Museum of Fine Arts in Arras.