Bonaparte returns to the Island of Elba

“Napoleon. Imperial glory,
the treasures of the Fondazione Napoléon”

It couldn’t end with him running off from a dance during Carnival. It wouldn’t have been worthy of the man or his profound relationship with what should have been his gilded prison until death. It would have been impolite to leave like that, without even saying goodbye. Indeed, the Island of Elba is like a woman who knows how to be very loving, but in turn demands respect from her lovers. And Napoleon Bonaparte could not help but come back to kiss her hand.
Until September 12th, 2008 an exhibition that describes, through symbols of the imperial glory as well as various daily objects, the official as well as more personal life of the Empereur Napoléon, brings him back to life in the Elban residences. After its success in Rome, “Napoleon. Imperial glory. The treasures of the Fondazione Napoléon”, arrives on the site of his first exile in 1814, the Palazzina dei Mulini and Villa San Martino in Portoferraio (LI).
Out of the over two-hundred pieces on display, two in particular portray the emperor’s personality: the legendary chapeau, iconographic symbol par excellence and a collection of notes taken by the emperor during his exile in Sant’Elena, testimony to the fact that he learned in English in only 20 days. Beautiful manufactured pieces, silver cutlery, plates and paintings from the period depict the atmosphere of the courts, which for 300 days, transformed the Island of Eba into a cultural and political European capital. The exhibition includes a selection of the most beautiful works of art from the Foundation Napoléon’s collection in Paris and from two of the main French Napoleonic museums, the “Musée national des châteaux de Malmaison et Bois-Préau” and the “Musée de l’Armée” in Paris.
Evidence of Napoleon’s leadership is not lacking: the large painting of the Battle of Marengo by Boze, Lefèvre and Vernet evokes General Bonaparte, shortly after becoming First Consul, dominating the battle scene beside his Chief of State Berthier and in the uniform Napoleon wore during combat. The section dedicated to the military campaigns includes the Aigle de drapeau, one of the vessels of the La Grande Armée, the helmet and armour endowed to the Italian police force, in addition to a number of sabres. A study drawing for Le Sacre di Jacques-Louis David recalling the December 2nd, 1804 ceremony in Notre Dame depicts Napoleon being crowned while in the final version of the grand work of the Louvre the emperor is drawn in the moment in which his wife Josephine is crowned. The final work of the show is dedicated to the epilogue of the extraordinary Napoleonic era. That in which, irreparably exiled to Sant’Elena, he may have regretted fleeing Elba, without even the memory of his last kiss.