Napoleons Tunnel of Love

The Tuiliries Palace is a site you can't visit in Paris because it is no longer there.
Most visitors to the Louvre have walked through the Tuiliries Gardens though, not realizing that this was the site of a major palace.
The palace stood on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed in a fire set by the Paris Commune.* It was Napoleon's chief residence and both Josephine and Maria Louise occupied the apartments he had redone for the main women in his life.
I wish I could see this palace in its original state. Napoleon "really did it up nice." He also had quite a bit done before the arrival of wife number two, hoping to impress her since she had lived in a pretty spiffy castle in Vienna.
But what I would have liked to have walked through was the tunnel.
Now, there must have been a zillion tunnels in and out of all these palaces.
The one I would want to walk through is the one Napoleon had dug for Maria Louise.
Apparently she didn't enjoy all the good wishes and salutations she received during a walk to the terrace. How troublesome the public must have been. As she was pregnant and Napoleon was doing everything possible to keep her happy, he ordered the tunnel. Privacy en route to the terrace.
Maria Louise gets on my nerves more and more. Could there be a bigger whiner?
Josephine would have said hello to everyone. And given them money while she was at it.

*I have mentioned the Paris Commune in a previous post about the Vendome column destruction. They did way more damage to the palace when they set fire to it. It was never rebuilt, even though the structure itself stood as a shell for an additional eleven years. The plans and photos of the palace are still in the archives and virtually all the furniture and art was saved because it had already been removed prior to the fire. There has been a major movement to rebuilt the Palace with private donations.

Looking for Josephine Bonaparte

I am looking for something. Does this painting seem strange to you?
This is David's painting of the "distribution of the eagles."
Clearly a reward/award ceremony.
Napoleon commissioned it, but by the time David got partway finished, Napoleon and Josephine were divorced and "big head's" mother was on the scene…and jealous.
So jealous in fact, that David had to paint her out…she would have been right there to the left of Napoleon. I can't figure out how, but I wonder if she would have been in her coronation robes too.
It does seem a little lopsided to me.
Apparently there was an addition to the sky that Napoleon didn't like as well…so that got painted over too.
How I would love a close up.

That Maria Louise sure did wield some power.

Napoleon's Credit Card

I have been thinking about some of the quotes attributed to Napoleon.
While some are very powerful and relevant even today, some clearly place him into the category of legendary despots.
One in particular haunts me.
I call it the human credit card comment.
It has been written that Napoleon once said to the Tsar of Russia:

A man such as I does not concern himself much about the lives of a
million men. I have three hundred thousand men to spend.

I think someone should have reviewed the limit on this credit card. Somewhere along the way he got a credit increase.
He lost well over 500,000 men in the Russian campaign.
That’s a HUGE overspend.

Napoleon's Trip To Elba

As the only Napoleon buff I know, I constantly walk about muttering, "who could have possibly agreed to this?"
There are so many meetings I wish I could have been at.
Today, I would have liked to be present when the Britsh started sorting through their list of available ships. Obviously, they needed to get Napoleon out of Europe…and fast.
Now I know the term "spin doctor" is a twenty first century concept. But surely thay had a sense of "appearances."
The painter David was clearly the master of appearances for Napoleon. Organizing the big theatrical crowning events etc.
So, with appearances on the mind, who thought it was okay to send Napoleon to Elba on a ship named Undaunted?

Undaunted - undiminished in courage or valor; not giving way to fear; intrepid: Although outnumbered, he was undaunted.

To Bid or Not To Bid

"antique PORTRAIT Josephine Bonaparte signed F. Gerard"

Would you bid $5000 on a painting when the owner can't be certain of the artist signature?
I think if I had a "Gerard" original, that I might have spent some time having an expert give it a once over. If it is a Gerard, it's worth a whole lot more.
It is a really nice portrait of Josephine though. I am happy to have seen it.
Even if it is only on EBay and not in a Sotheby's catalogue.

Napoleon's Pinch

I am a little surprised to read about Napoleon's penchant for pinching.
Apparently he constantly pinched people to the point of bruising. On the arm, the ear, the nose.
His staff was constantly walking about bruised.
Women were not spared. He seemed to enjoy pinching their noses…..
I am unsure what to make of this.
The Napoleon supporter in me thinks he didn't know his own strength.
Perhaps these were playful little pinches in his mind.
My niece was quite the pincher when she was a baby. She would go to sleep stroking your arm…happy in the knowledge that you were still with her…and then surprise…the lobster pinch! It made me nervous every time her little hand came near my arm.
I wonder if Napoleon's staff walked on tip toes hoping not to excite him.
Can you imagine Napoleon coming at you and then getting your nose pinched to the point it bled? I am not sure how you would recover from this embarrassment, let alone return to the room and have it happen again.
Lucky for Nappy, the Napoleonic Code did not include any harassment laws….

Another Painting by David

I almost missed seeing this painting of Zénaïde and Charlotte Bonaparte at the Getty Museum in California last week. Because the trip was a surprise last minute addition to the schedule, I had no time to research the current exhibitions.
The painting is stunning. Another portrait by David. You want to just reach out and touch the fabric.
I suspect these are very lifelike so I have a much better idea of what these two little girls looked like. I did recall reading that Joseph Bonaparte requested this portrait but have never located it.
To think that they will be married off in a few years....one to a cousin no less.
Here is a link to the museum to read more.

Napoleon's Super Bowl Commercial

Now I need a Garmin.