Haunted by The Roi De Rome

I think the Roi De Rome is haunting me.

I have been reading and following up on his life for some months now. His image keeps appearing in the most unlikely places.

This is a pile of vintage photos I purchased a week ago at the outdoor antique market in the south of Paris. It was an amazing find and I posted about it today on my other blog too. Stuck amongst these photos was this card of Napoleon's son. An amazingly lucky find for me because I have never seen this card or this illustration of him before yesterday when I reviewed the pile.

Napoleon on his Imperial throne by Ingres

One of the reasons I was happy about my trip timing this year was because of the re-opening of the Musee De L'Armee. I was really hoping to see the brand new rooms and the new exhibit which follows French wars from Louis XIV to Napoleon the 3rd. Naturally, I was heading to the middle section covering Napoleon the First. As I was weaving in and out of rooms I spotted this image down a long hallway.

A painter was painting a copy of Ingres's famous painting of Napoleon. It was like seeing double. It really is fantastic to see someone painting. It really makes you realize how hard and talented you have to be to be able to render fabrics and skin tones with paint.

She's doing an amazing job isn't she? Allow me to just say now that the new building exhibit is fantastic. There really is a lot to take in. Those of you who really study the wars, the costumes and armour need to set aside a day for this exhibit.

PS. Don't get too close to a painting. I set off a big alarm by leaning in a little too closely!

Napoleon on his Imperial throne by

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780–1867), painted 1806.

Back To The Tomb

I went back today.

First, to pay my respects at the tomb of Napoleon.

But mainly to go back to see Napoleon the Second's resting place.

Back in March I did a lengthy post about Hitler's gift to France. He returned Napoleon's sons remains to France from Austria where they had been since his death. I couldn't understand how I missed this information while touring the main building housing Napoleon. I see now that Napoleon II is right here in this special alcove. Also in the alcove is an amazing statue of Napoleon his father.

His crypt is under this marble. Like his father, he had a pretty spectacular coffin, but it has not been seen in over 50 years. It was decided that burying it was the easier that trying to figure out how to display it.

From the alcove if you turn around you see Napoleon's crypt. In a way, they are together.
Better than being separated by a country I guess.

The Coronation Painting at Versailles

Still in Paris. Happily stranded by the lack of planes.
So I added a day trip to Versailles which was not part of my regular schedule. The Palace was as busy as usual. In the Coronation room, there was no way to get a picture of the painting without people being in the way. I can never figure out if this room is full of admirers or because it has benches to sit on. As always, it was jammed with people all chatting loudly and taking photos.

My blog is full of references to this paining. I'll never be tired of it. The painting at Versailles is a second copy. The original is in the Louvre. The artist David painted this second copy and last year I found out there was a third copy too. What a prospect to make a copy. The people are almost life size as you can see from the real people walking by. Once I get home I'll have more time to review the photos I took in the other rooms that are Napoleon related.

I have had a few emails while I have been travelling.
A few people are wondering if I am a real person or not. Yes! I am just a regular woman from Canada who loves Napoleonic history. Here I am getting a photo in the museum. Looks like I have a few new readers! Welcome!

Napoleon's Son at The Fontainebleau Palace

Hello friends. I was supposed to be flying back to Canada today. Then I would have several weeks of interesting post about my trip to Paris. But here I am....still in Paris. Like millions of other travellers grounded because of a volcano.

So I thought I would work on my posts today!

I went back to Fontainebleau for two reasons.

1. I missed the special side rooms featuring Napoleon's son. Argh. How did I miss this?

2. There is a special new exhibit of some prints I wanted to see. (more about them later)

So it begins with this famous painting of the baby Napoleon the 2nd: Le Roi De Rome by Gerard.

I was so happy to see this in person.

Then in the next room in a glass case his baby shoes! How pretty!

A charcoal sketch of the Roi de Rome! I could not figure out who sketched this but I am sure this must be an excellent likeness given that it was framed and kept. I research this a little more later.

One of the baby cribs. How over-embellished is this?

And finally one of the baby's books. This is a book and a game I do not know but it was in excellent condition.

The Abdication Table

In 2008 I had a post about the table Napoleon signed his abdication documents on.

It was a difficult picture to take at the Fontainebleau Palace because the day I was there it was very busy. Last week I had the room to myself! So I made this tiny video to show you how lovely the whole room is!

Found him! I am in Paris and spent the day at the big antique market north of the city.

Another amazing image of Napoleon's son. This one is really great because his head is finally in porportion to his body. He looks a little fragile though.

This image is a hand tinted page from a book and some of the other members of Napoleon's family were available in the same file. Jerome holds no interest for me but there were a few lovely pictures of Hortense. But Nappy Jr. is all I wanted.

I plan to visit his final resting place later this week.

My Blog Helped!

The best thing about my blog is never knowing who I might hear from next.

I received the nicest email from someone new to me this week.

Alice wrote to me about a piece of jewelry she designed for a client that received a little inspiration from my post on Napoleon's bee.

The link to her story is right here. Thank you Alice!