The Sacring of Napoleon

the Sacring of Napoleon is a table painted by Jacques-Louis David official painter of Napoleon I {{er}} between 1805 and 1808. Imposing by its dimensions, almost ten meters on more than six, the fabric of David is preserved at the Louvre but also at Versailles. Crowning and the sacring took place with Notre-Dame de Paris, a manner for Napoleon of meaning clearly who he was well a son of the Révolution: it indicated the capital as the center administrative Politique, and cultural of the France.

History of work

Work is ordered orally by Napoleon i in September 1804. David begins his realization on December 21st, 1805 in the old vault of the Collège of Cluny, close to the Sorbonne, which is used to him as workshop. Assisted by its pupil Georges Mullet, it puts the final key in November 1807. From February 7th to March 21st, 1808, work is exposed to the annual Art gallery; in 1810, it is presented to the contest of the decennial prices. The table remains the property of David until 1819, year when it is yielded to the museum royal. Those store it in the reserves until 1837. It is then installed in the room of the Sacring of the historical museum of the Château of Versailles on order of king Louis-Philippe. In 1889, it is dispatched with the museum of Louvre, and is replaced in Versailles by a late counterpart of the hand of the painter.

Context

  • Napoleon Bonaparte directs France since 1799 like First consul. He imposed by stages a personal capacity extremely. The mode is made accept by Plébiscite S.

  • Plébiscite
  • Attempted murder

Composition

The table is traversed by several guiding lines and shows the rules of the Néoclassicisme. One of principal is that which passes by the cross and which has a vertical orientation. All the glances seem to converge towards Napoleon who is in the center of the composition. A diagonal axis goes from the pope to the empress.

Characters

The representation of the ceremony

The scene is held on December 2nd, 1804, in the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. However the sacrings of the kings de France usually took place with the cathedral of Rheims. It is Napoleon who poses the crown on the head of Joséphine, whereas the pope Pie VII, on the right sitted, tightens the hand as a sign of blessing. Napoleon takes here his distances with the monarchical protocol and wants to break with the heritage Bourbon. Nevertheless, the various objects point out the Regalia royal: crown and Sceptre is present. But the emperor is not crowned by the grace of God, it does not become a monarch by divine right. The decoration antiquisant, the sphere and the laurel wreath indicate the fascination of Napoleon for the Roman Empire. The presence tops dignitiaires as of the Bonaparte family are the supports of the new mode. They compose the new nobility of empire (officially founded in 1808), a nobility based on the merit. Napoleon restores a court with a label and resides in the palates of French monarchy (Tuileries).

Actors

  1. Napoleon i (1769-1821) is upright; he is the only actor of the scene, the others are only passive spectators

  2. Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814): is knelt, in position of tender, as the Civil code recommends it French. It receives the crown of the hands of her husband, and not of the pope.
  3. Maria Letizia Ramolino (1750-1836), mother of Napoleon, was placed in the platforms by the painter. She occupies a place more important than the pope. Actually, it did not attend the ceremony to protest of the estrangement of Napoleon with his Lucien brother. The father of Napoleon, Charles Bonaparte died in 1785. Maria Letizia asked the painter to allot a place of honor to him. In 1808, when Napoleon discovered the fabric completed in the workshop of David, it was transported, and says all its gratitude to the painter who had known to pay homage for the posterity to the affection that it carried to a woman who divided with him the burden of her function.
  4. Louis Bonaparte, (1778-1846); at the beginning of the empire, it accepted the title of large constable. King de Hollande in 1806. He married Hortense de Beauharnais, the girl of Joséphine.
  5. Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844): after crowning, it accepted the title of imperial Prince. Then he was king de Naples in 1806 and of Spain in 1808.
  6. the young Napoleon-Charles (1802-1807), wire of Louis Bonaparte and Hortense de Beauharnais.
  7. sisters of Napoleon
  8. Charles-François Lebrun (1739-1824): third consul at the sides of Napoleon Bonaparte and Cambacérès]. Under the First Empire, it occupies the place of prince-architrésorier. It holds the sceptre. # [[Jean-Jacques-Governed of Cambacérès]] (1753-1824): prince-archichancelier of the Empire. It holds it [[hand of justice]]. # [[Louis-Alexandre Berthier]] (1753-1815): Minister for the war under the Consulate then marshal of Empire in 1805. It holds the surmounted sphere of a cross. # [[Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord|Talleyrand]] (1754-1836): [[great chamberlain]] since [[July 11th]] [[1804]]. # [[Joachim Murat]] (1767-1815): marshal of empire, king de Naples after 1808, brother-in-law of Napoleon and husband of [[Caroline Bonaparte]]. #Le pope [[Black and white VII]] (1742-1823), is satisfied to bless crowning. It is surrounded by the ecclesiastical dignitaries, named by Napoleon since the Legal settlement. In order not to compromise new balance between the Church and the State, the pope badly accepted gladly liking to attend crowning, which David clearly represents in the table: one recognizes some bishops with their miters and, in the foreground, the archbishop of Paris holding a cross in the hand. Magpie VII hardly visible, sitting behind Napoleon, his right hand outlining a gesture of blessing. It carries neither miter nor tiara, but the pallium on the shoulders, this band of white wool embroidered of six black crosses which were one of the attributes of the sovereignty of the métropolites of the Roman Church. It is with that it is identified. Before the ceremony, the pope blesses the imperial couple after having waited two hours in the icy building: the emperor wanted absolutely to render comprehensible with sovereign pontiff who was with the orders from now on. Napoleon had however to make compromises or at least to take care that its function, as impossible as that seemed, is compatible with the ideals of 1789. The ceremony of crowning thus proceeded in two times, one religious, the other republican. Thus after having capped the crown, Napoleon lent the constitutional oath: “I swear to maintain the integrity of the territory of the Republic”. Napoleon, emperor by the grace of God and the constitution of the Republic… #Le painter [[Jacques-Louis David]] is in the platforms. regrouping of wolves ==Les témoignages== Here what tells [[Claire Elisabeth de Vergennes|Madam de Rémusat]] (extracted from '' Mémoires '' Madam de Rémusat, volume 2,1881), friend of Joséphine de Beauharnais: [[Image: Jacques-Louis David 003.jpg|thumb|Laetitia Bonaparte]] {{beginning quotation}} '' II had there initially great discussions on the particular crowning of the emperor. The first idea was that the pope would place this crown of his own hands; but Bonaparte refused with the idea to hold it of which that it was. One determined finally that the emperor would crown itself and that the pope would give only his blessing. [...] Arrived at Notre-Dame, the emperor remained some time with the archbishop's palace to adorn there his large clothes which appeared to crush it a little. Its small size was based under its enormous coat of hermine. A simple laurel wreath girded its head; it resembled an ancient medal. But it of an extreme paleness, was truly moved and its turbid glance. After being itself crowned itself, Napoleon crowns Joséphine. The moment when the empress was crowned excited a general movement of admiration. It went so well towards the furnace bridge, knelt in a way so elegant and so simple that this act satisfied all the glances. [...] The pope during all the ceremony had always a little the air of a victim resigned, but resigned noblement. '' {{fine quotation}} Another witness describes crowning in these terms: (extracts of '' Mémoires of a woman of '' quality, Paris, 1830) [[Image: Jacques-Louis David 019.jpg|thumb|left|Napoleon and Joséphine]] {{beginning quotation}} '' the pope blesses one after the other, and by reciting verses and speeches appropriate to each object, the crowns of the emperor and the empress, the sword, the coats, the rings, while Their Imperial Majesties always remained on their small throne. The made blessings, Napoleon and Joséphine returned again to the foot of the furnace bridge. The tradition of the ornaments of the emperor was done in the following order: the ring, the sword, the coat, the hand of justice, the sceptre, the crown. The pope made successively the prayer on each one of them, and here suspended his functions, because, the crown being placed on the furnace bridge, Napoleon took it his hands and itself posed it on its head; this crown was a diadem of sheets of oak and gold bay-tree; diamonds formed the nipples and the fruits. That made, the emperor also took on the furnace bridge the crown intended for the empress, and put it on the head of Joséphine at knees in front of him. […] Then the emperor, sitting, the crown on the head, and the hand on the Saints Gospels, pronounced the oath. '' {{fine quotation}} The oath in question is this one: {{beginning quotation}} '' I swear to maintain the integrity of the territory of the Republic, to respect the laws of the Legal settlement and the freedom of the worships; to respect and make respect the equal rights, political and civil freedom, the irrevocability of the sales of the national goods; not to raise any tax, not to establish any tax but under the terms of the law; to maintain the institution of the Legion of honor; to control in the only sight of the interest, the happiness and the glory of French people. '' {{fine quotation}} [[Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck]] ambassador of the Batavian Republic written to its Catharina wife: {{beginning quotation}} '' the cold terribly made suffer the assistants, especially the ladies, who cannot escape the evil, because of lightness of their clothing and what the ceremonial did not enable them to cover with a shawl as they do it differently. The weather was so cold, especially in this immense cathedral, that even the men did not hold to with it any more. '' {{fine quotation}} Letter always preserved at the descendants of the ambassador, quoted in the catalog of the exposure: '' Louis Napoleon, First King de Hollande, 1806-1810 '', Paris, Institut Dutch, 2007-2008, '' That to carry in the King? The costume and the label at the court of Holland '', by Trudie Costa de Carvalho p. 92 ==Une work of propagande== [[Image: Jacques-Louis David 014.jpg|thumb|left|Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon in costume of sacring, 1805]] Art is put at the service of [[propaganda]] Napoleonean: it must form the spirits and prepare the posterity of the emperor. It is about a work of order and the table was exposed to the Napoleon museum (future [[museum of Louvre]]). Work testifies initially to the authoritarianism of Napoleon: this last visited regular to the workshop of David supervise the implementation of the table. The pope is represented sat, less higher than the emperor. This last turns the back to him. It should be recalled that, thereafter, Napoleon makes it stop and keep under monitoring with [[Fontainebleau]]. Its presence with crowning is forced; it has only one role of second plan. The French clergy is controlled by Napoleon. Since the signature of [[the certificated Mode|legal settlement]], it is him which chooses the bishops. Then, the first version of the table should have represented the emperor crowning itself. But the scene was considered to be too arrogant. The convergence of the glances can make think of [[centralization]] mode, made possible by the institution of the prefects. Then, the decoration and the pump of the ornaments show a will of dramatizing of the scene. The painter seeks to show the union of the French around the emperor. It is actually known that the mother of Napoleon had not wanted to move in Paris for the ceremony. It is however reproduced on the table, in the platforms. It also should be recalled that the Bonaparte sisters had refused to hold the coat of Joséphine. But the Bonaparte family serves the interests of the mode while directing the territories conquered by [[the Large army (First Empire)|Large army]]: [[Louis Bonaparte|Louis]] in [[Holland]], [[Jerome Bonaparte|Jerome]] in [[Westphalia]], [[Joseph Bonaparte|Joseph]] in [[Spain]]… to ==Voir aussi== ===Notes=== This table is studied in of the semi-serious, semi-humorous work [[Heading-with-brac]] Gallery. In parallel of the documented comment of Guillaume Marie-Angel, [[Gotlib]] work of David proposes an amusing parody. ==Références== ===Bibliographie=== * [[Sylvain Laveissière]], '' the Sacring of Napoleon painted by David '', Paris, Museum of Louvre, 2004 * [[Jean Tulard]], '' the Sacring of the Napoleon emperor. History and legend '', Paris 2004, ISBN 2-213-62-098-9 ===Liens interns=== * [[First Empire]] * [[Sacring]] * [[Napoleon i]] ===Liens externes=== * [http://www.louvre.fr/templates/llv/flash/sacre/sacre_fr.html the Sacring of Napoleon to the magnifying glass] (Media) {{Fr}} {{Horizontal Serie_peinture}} {{Multi stringcourse|Gate French revolution|gate painting}} [[Category: Table of Jacques-Louis David|Crown of Napoleon]] [[Category: First Empire|Crown of Napoleon]] [[Category: Neo-classic painting|Crown of Napoleon]] [[Category: Work preserved at Louvre|Crown of Napoleon]] [[be: The coronación of Napoleón]] [[it: The incoronazione di Napoleone]] [[Ru: ПосвящениеимператораНаполеона I икоронованиеимператрицыЖозефинывсобореПарижскойБогоматери 2 декабря 1804 года
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