{"id":29803,"date":"2021-05-11T18:26:17","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T17:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thefrenchjewelrypost.com\/?post_type=mon-agenda&p=29803"},"modified":"2025-10-28T09:48:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T08:48:51","slug":"napoleon-josephine-extraordinary-story-the-chaumet-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"mon-agenda","link":"https:\/\/thefrenchjewelrypost.com\/en\/mon-agenda\/napoleon-josephine-extraordinary-story-the-chaumet-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"“Napol\u00e9on et Jos\u00e9phine – Une histoire (extra)ordinaire”, the Chaumet exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Among the celebrations of the bicentenary of Napol\u00e9on’s death, only one comes from a private actor: Chaumet, who was (under the name of Nitot) the Emperor\u2019s official jeweler. Through 150 paintings, letters, jewels, etc., it charts Napoleon\u2019s love story with Jos\u00e9phine, intimately bound up with that of power.<\/p>\n

Text and photos by Sandrine Merle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I had the opportunity to discover the stunning exhibition in preview with Jean-Marc Mansvelt, CEO of the company. We wandered through the magnificent salons with their gilded woodwork, classified as historical monuments. A few highlights.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The power of the paintings<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the entrance, the famous portraits of the lovers in their formal finery (by Fran\u00e7ois G\u00e9rard) frame the gilded throne of Napol\u00e9on. We are already familiar with the one of “Jos\u00e9phine dans les jardins de Malmaison” attributed to Prud’hon for Eug\u00e8ne, but here we discover the pastel version “probably conceived at the same time for his daughter Hortense”<\/em>, explains Jean-Marc Mansvelt. We also see \u2013 and this is extremely rare \u2013 the portrait of the young Napol\u00e9on in flaming red or the engraving of “The Rehearsal of the Coronation”. The most unexpected item: Napol\u00e9on with his nephews, including the future Napol\u00e9on III, on his lap.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Logically enough, the exhibition begins with the marriage certificate<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dated 1796, the document is accompanied by a simple ring with the initials JNB (Jos\u00e9phine Napol\u00e9on Bonaparte) given as a gift by Napol\u00e9on, who was then still a mere general without a fortune to his name. Then comes the magnificent love letter written during the Italian campaign in spirited handwriting, complete with crossings out. Chaumet also shows the tailor’s account books, Nitot’s order books… and finally the letter from the empress in a tormented hand, accepting the dissolution of the marriage.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The tiara, an emblematic jewel of the Napoleonic era<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9phine launched the fashion for this head jewel which she loved. Among the marvels exhibited (including the cameo sculpted from a single shell), the most important is that portraying 9 ears of wheat bent by the wind… Above all, this was Jos\u00e9phine’s first order to Nitot, intended for her first official ceremony as sovereign. It was also the starting point for hundreds of commissions that would turn Nitot into a specialist of the genre. In spite of the scenography, we can see a few “prototypes” in nickel silver (a non-precious alloy) among the hundreds that line the walls.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The pearls finally reunited<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a first: Chaumet reunited the pair of earrings and the necklace that Jos\u00e9phine liked to wear together. Made with pear-shaped pearls (detachable from the necklace) and attributed to Nitot, they became separated as they were handed down the generations: the first is now in the Louvre while the second, known as the “Leuchtenberg” necklace, belongs to a private collection.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And finally, some family jewels<\/strong><\/p>\n

We discover the exceptional belt belonging to Empress Marie-Louise made from an antique cameo offered by Princess Pauline Borghese (Napol\u00e9on’s youngest sister). Inspired by the long belts worn in the Middle Ages, it is full of Napoleonic symbols (palmettes, bees, laurel wreaths) with pearl tassels on the ends. This last room also houses Caroline Murat’s nicolo agate ensemble, a pair of Auguste-Am\u00e9lie de Bavi\u00e8re’s watch bracelets, Madame M\u00e8re’s acrostic bracelet and the enamel clover brooch given by Napoleon III to his future wife, Eug\u00e9nie.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

An exquisite blend of power and emotion. Book your visit\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Related articles:<\/p>\n

150 years ago, when the column fell…<\/a><\/p>\n

8 things you didn’t know about cameos<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had the opportunitiy to discover the stunning exhibition in preview with Jean-Marc Mansvelt, CEO of the company. We wandered through the magnificent salons with their gilded woodwork, classified as historical monuments. 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