AS part of the Year of Napoléon commemorating the bicentenary of Emperor Napoléon’s death, Maison Chaumet will present an exhibition entitled Joséphine et Napoléon, Une Histoire (Extra)Ordinaire. Curated by Pierre Branda, the exhibition looks back on this iconic couple, alongside a selection of beautiful pieces of jewellery from Chaumet’s historical collection.
L’Empereur Napoléon 1er en costume de sacre – François Gérard – 1806. Photograph: courtesy Chaumet
Joséphine et Napoléon, Une Histoire (Extra)Ordinaire celebrates both the couple’s passionate love story, and Joséphine’s private life, through an in exhibition that will display 150 examples of jewellery, paintings, works of art, correspondence and illustrated documents of the couple which have been borrowed from the collection of Maison Chaumet.
Malachite cameo parure belonging to Empress Joséphine,
Photograph: Nitot Circa 1810
In addition to pieces from Maison Chaumet, the installation also includes loans from private collectors – such as the Royal Danish Collection, the Collection NBC Bruno Ledoux and the Collection Françoise Deville – as well as from cultural institutions such as the Fondation Napoléon , the Musée du Lourve, the Château de Fontainebleau, the Musée National des Châteaux de Malmaison et Bois-Préau, the Musée Masséna in Nice, the Musée Carnavalet and the Fondation Dosne-Thiers.
Intaglio parure belonging to Empress Joséphine.
Photograph: François-Regnault Nitot (1779–1853) Circa 1809Brooch hydrangea of Queen Hortense.
Photograph: Nitot et Fils Circa 1807
Branda, who is a specialist in the history of Napoléon, Joséphine and the First Empires, assembled the exhibition to feature over 150 pieces of jewellery, paintings, works of art, correspondence and illustrated documents, successfully highlighting the historical period.
The location of the exhibition – Chaumet’s refurbished hotel 12 Vendôme, Photograph: Chaumet
by Amie Bawa
The exhibition will be held in Chaumet’s refurbished hotel at 12 Vendôme, Paris, from April 10, 2021 to June 12, 2021