The Things People Collect

Having purchased the occasional shark tooth in my travels I guess I can understand why a tooth might be a collectible. But actually having a human tooth about FREAKS ME OUT!

Dentistry being what it is, most of us don't associate a pulled tooth with anything but pain. A tooth from Napoleon's time must have had to hurt a great deal to get a person to agree to have it pulled. Just thinking about it gives me a phantom tooth ache. But dentists were around and I am sure they were quite busy given the lack of good food and clean water.

Josephine's teeth were very bad. Some say partially black, which is why she always smiled with her lips firmly closed. But that's a whole other topic.

Apparently, this is Napoleon's tooth.

Look at the beautiful frame. But where would you display such an object? And why?

"Bonjour, welcome to my home. Would you like some lunch? Oh by the way, have a look at Napoleon's tooth."

Napoleon Dolls

Les Invalides in Paris is a group of building, museums and monuments all showcasing the military history of France. Napoleon's Tomb is clearly the draw for the thousands of tourists who visit annually. The main building is undergoing construction at this time, so access to part of Napoleon's historical artifacts was blocked. To make up for this, they decided to put a smaller display out. This doll reconstruction of the the coronation was amazing! I know from sketches that they did in fact create a table top model of the Coronation. (This way everyone involved would see where they would be placed etc.)

Because this was a temporary exhibit, I do not know if these are the original dolls, or a replica of the original set made for Napoleon. And, if I could be critical for a moment, a little bit of english in the museum descriptions would help too. No matter. I just wished I would have had a set of these dolls as a child. I would have replayed the coronation a million times!

Napoleon More Popular Than Ever

This is a major room in the Louvre. I took this picture last month. The Louvre is such a busy museum ordinarily. I was amazed to have so many rooms all to myself. But I did discover where all the people were.

This is the room in which "The Coronation of Napoleon by David" is hung. Note the large crowds! I have never seen it busier. Take that Mona. Your popularly is waning.


Napoleon summed it up perfectly "This is not painting; you walk in this work". One of these days I am going to get this room to myself and have a picture taken where I appear to be a part of this painting.

Found it!

Last year I posted one of my favorite images of Napoleon.

I could not figure out who painted this scene. And today...ah ha!

Flipping through one of my older books I found this black and white version. It's Napoleon at St. Helena by Martinet. Now, I can't find anything on that artist, but at least I now know when and where this was taken. The woman can't be a wife...so I can now assume it might be his sister or a spouse of one of the people who went into exile with him. Mystery now solved! IF it was my choice, I would say it was Maria Walewska...the only one of his great loves to visit him in exile.

The Chateau Fontainebleau

Two weeks ago I stood here for a moment and then walked right up to the main entrance.

This is Fontainebleau. A truly majestic hunting lodge.

I took a moment to imagine myself in this painting of Napoleon saying goodbye to his Imperial Guard in this very courtyard before being exiled. What a moment in history.

It made me think of this other painting of Napoleon at Fontainebleau. I think I managed to snap a photo of the actual chair while touring the rooms. (the one in the right hand corner)

They don't go out of their way to link Napoleon to a lot of the furniture in the Chateau. Napoleon the 3rd gets a lot more attention for restoring it. I would like to tour this building some day with a Napoleon expert. Now, that would be a great tour.

I did a longer review about Fontainebleau on my other blog linked here.