NAPOLÉON BUONAPARTE's KEEN UNDERSTANDING of the ENDURANCE of ART cf. at the HELM Gsites EGYPT & NAPOLÉON & DENON by Peter Helm CATALOGUES polygraficum 1980-2021 polygraphicum

NAPOLÉON BUONAPARTE's KEEN UNDERSTANDING of the ENDURANCE of ART cf. Gsites EGYPT & NAPOLÉON & DENON at the HELM by Peter Helm ONLINE CATALOGUES Full Illustrated & Multilingual polygrafich 1980-2021 polygraphicum 1. Catalogo Catalogue Katalog ÄGYPTEN EGITTO EGYPT EGYPTE https://sites.google.com/site/artcombook/egitto https://web.archive.org/web/20080630055830/http://www.polygraphicum.de/Aegypten.html 2. Catalogue NAPOLÉON https://web.archive.org/web/20090618051825/http://www.polygraphicum.de/napoleon.html 3. Catalogue DOMINIQUE VIVANT DENON https://web.archive.org/web/20090731125423/http://www.polygraphicum.de/DOMINIQUE_VIVANT_DENON_CATALOGUE_EXPO_SALE_2006_2007_Index.html 4. Catalogue SAXA LOQUUNTUR Steine Reden DRUCK vom STEIN (Litografia.Lithographie.Lithography) https://sites.google.com/site/wwwartcatalogues/lith https://sites.google.com/site/olddecorative/illustrated-polygraphicum https://sites.google.com/site/artcombook/lithographie-catalog http://0700polygraf.blogspot.com/2019/12/peter-helm-lithographie-catalogue.html https://web.archive.org/web/20100315173729/http://www.polygraphicum.de/Lithographie.html VIVANT-DENON https://www.inha.fr/fr/ressources/publications/publications-numeriques/dictionnaire-critique-des-historiens-de-l-art/denon-dominique-vivant.html https://www.mutualart.com/Article/Napoleon-Bonapartes-Keen-Understanding-o/DE191ED4F8DAB54B?utm_source=MutualArt+Subscribers&utm_campaign=927402a397-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_Magazine_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0a9ce6ca24-927402a397-448526224

cf. CATALOGUE NAPOLÉON Musée National de Corse cf. wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon cf. Gsites EGYPT & NAPOLÉON & DENON at the HELM by Peter Helm ONLINE CATALOGUES Full Illustrated & Multilingual polygrafich 1980-2021 polygraphicum

NAPOLÉONE BUONAPARTE 15.8.1769-5.5.1821 HELM No.19 Napoléon Bonaparte Frühe Kreidelithographie.Auf aufgewalztem China. In kleiner Auflage erschienen. Napoléon Bonaparte Early Crayon-Lithograph.On chine appliqué. Small edition Collection Peter A. Helm Polygraphicum 19Portraitgraphik.jpg https://web.archive.org/web/20090627063012/http://www.polygraphicum.de/Portrait-Graphik.html

Horace Vernet. Napoleon on His Deathbed 1825. Oil on canvas. Courtesy of the National Post 2021 marks the bicentennial of the French emperor’s death, and it is being widely celebrated through exhibitions paying homage to his impact on the arts. Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps, 1801, oil on canvas. Courtesy of the National Gallery of Victoria Like many historical figures, Napoléon Bonaparte is a polarizing one. Be that as it may, his impact on the arts has managed to serve as common ground for people around the world. This year marks the two-hundredth anniversary of his passing, most likely from stomach cancer, while in his sixth year of exile on Saint Helena, a remote island colonized by the British in the South Atlantic Ocean. While the bicentenary of his death has passed, exhibitions highlighting his artistic legacy continue to be on view at major museums and galleries. Some even plan to open after the most relevant dates in his life have passed: his death, in May, and his birth, in August. The Uffizi Galleries, for one, will not be holding their Napoléon exhibition until next month, as the majority of the others start winding down. However, the fact that so many exhibitions across multiple countries have the ability to show art pertaining to Napoléon, largely at the same time, speaks to the magnitude of his impact. Beyond that of a French military leader, his legacy is defined by many as a man who was obsessed with art. Born on the island of Corsica, Napoléon, as a young man with humble roots, had a strong desire to make a name for himself, quickly realizing that the reach of his victories could only go so far. In order to be idolized, perhaps even feared, by the public, he would need to exploit the use of imagery to capture his victories and showcase his personality — art was the tool he needed to reach the masses, and more importantly, control the narrative. In doing so, he propelled an art movement that would later come to be known as Neoclassicism, painted by the like of Jacques-Louis David and others who would later dominate the period. As the nation’s ruler, and a major patron of the arts, Napoléon decided to rename the Louvre in 1802 to take after himself: the Musée Napoléon. It was he who elevated the Louvre to be the dominating presence that it is today. At the time, residential apartments on the museum grounds were housing artists, as they had for many years. Napoléon drove them out and removed the businesses that once covered the courtyards too. The museum then became wholly dedicated to exhibiting works of art, acquiring pieces through commission, private gifts, and even colonial looting. The works on display in his section of the museum were not merely his countless portraits and political happenings. Instead, he largely chose to display paintings, sculptures, and artifacts which the French, under his command, looted from countries they had conquered during his reign. This era played a big role in acquisitions for the Louvre, most notably the Department of Egyptian Antiquities. The Louvre today has around fifty works that were removed from Egypt during Napoléon’s rule. Looking to block Britain out from accessing the goods and resources in the greater Middle Eastern region, Napoléon spearheaded a military campaign that included scientists, botanists, archeologists, artists, and more to study and scour the lands for anything of value. It was then that the Rosetta Stone was found and brought back to France. Later, after a defeat by the British, the stone was taken yet again and displayed in the British Museum —where, much to the dismay of Egyptians, it remains today. The pieces that the French held on to were a source of pride and included in the Louvre’s permanent collection. Horace Vernet, Napoleon on His Deathbed, 1825, oil on canvas. Courtesy of the National Post Right up until his death, Napoléon was constantly searching for ways to shape his legacy. After being sent to Saint Helena by the British, with no artists around to construct his legacy as he pleased, he decided he would spend his days penning his life story. Napoléon made it clear that he wanted to be remembered as a fallen emperor who died far from home, isolated on a tiny volcanic rock with no escape. He wanted to be seen as a martyr, and painter Horace Vernet did just that. He created a telling portrait of Napoléon on his death bed, which despite being made four years after his death, is made to look like a true moment in history. In it, his deathbed is portrayed as an iron military cot, conjuring up the feeling that he was a fallen soldier and therefore should be remembered as a hero. He lies peacefully in all white, implying a sense of purity, clutching a sword across his chest. The sword’s handle depicts Jesus being crucified, in which he wears a crown of thorns. Napoléon is dressed in a crown to match, albeit a more comfortable one made of woven branches and leaves. Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin, Arc de Triomphe d’Étoile, finished in 1836, photographed ca. 1890-1900 by Detroit Publishing Co. Courtesy of the Library of Congress Napoléon is remembered by some as a hero who used his military gusto to expand the French empire while simultaneously centralizing the modern state. To others, he is remembered as an aggressive tyrant who relied on his military sense to take power just to lose it in battle later, succumbing to the British during the Battle of Waterloo. However, it is much easier to remember a person’s influence through larger-than-life artistic ventures and public monuments, such as the Madeleine Church and Arc de Triomphe, than it is to remember who was responsible for problematic moments of centuries past, like the attempt to reinstitute slavery in French colonies, the execution of the Duke of Enghien in response to a rumor, or the war on free press, shutting down more than 80% of French papers — all of which were indeed Napoléon. His political legacy is upsetting in many ways, but he seemed to have the foresight to use art to control the public’s perspective, not only at the time, but of the future masses too. And that is admittedly impressive. ° Dominique Vivant Denon. Advisor of Napoleon. Art Administrator.Artist Author.Charmeur.Connoisseur Diplomat Early Lithographer.Homme de Lettres Museum Director.Writer. cf. THE ILLUSTRATED BARTSCH 121 Part 1 Research granted by Seaton Hall University Faculty Council Collections : Paris.Bibliotheque Nationale Cabinet des Estampes .Réserves Cabinet des Médailles Chalon-sur Saone.Musée Vivant Denon Cambridge.Massachusetts.Fogg Museum Chicago Art Institute New York.N.Y. Metropolitan Museum.Drawing Department.Print Department New York. N.Y. Public Library New York Frick Collection. Köln.Wallraf Richartz Museum München Staatsbibliothek Firenze Uffizi Venezia Guggenheim Museum etc.

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