Book your ticket for the Napoléon exhibition !

1 March 2021

Marking the bicentenary of his death, the Napoléon exhibition explores the unlikely story of a complex character who was at once admired and controversial, victorious and conquered, heroic and tragic; a dramatic story that continues to fascinate our contemporaries to this day. It will highlight his political and cultural legacies that have profoundly impacted certain countries, chief among them France, as well as the mistakes he made.

From the historical character to the private man: every facet of his life

This exhibition is built around the following themes: the formative years at the Brienne military school; the campaigns in Italy (1796) and Egypt (1799); the Coup of 18 Brumaire and the Consulate; the emergence of the Empire; Napoleon the private man, his women, Joséphine then Marie-Louise, his legitimate son, King of Rome; Napoleon, the military leader; Napoleon and Europe, at the head of which he placed his brothers and sisters; the decline of the Empire, illustrated by two military failures, the Spanish campaign (1808) and the Russian campaign (1812); the Hundred Days and his final fall after the Battle of Waterloo.

Prestigious guests will give talks on various subjects, bringing an additional perspective to that of the curators. Themes include morals and religion, explored by Jacques-Olivier Boudon, the exercise of power with Thierry Lentz and the life and death of soldiers with François Houdecek. The space devoted to the re-establishment of slavery and Napoleon Bonaparte’s colonial project will be designed by the Fondation pour la Mémoire de l’Esclavage and will present, among other things, a short animated film directed by Mathieu Glissant and a video entrusted to historian Marcel Dorigny.

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