Exhibition "NapoleON. NapoleOFF? Napoleonic legend in European culture of the XIX-XX centuries" 12+ Automatic translate

In the Museum-panorama "Battle of Borodino" from May 1 to August 22, 2021. the exhibition “NapoleON. NapoleOFF? The Napoleonic Legend in European Culture of the 19th-20th Centuries ”. The exhibition from the collection of the Museum-Panorama "Battle of Borodino" and the collection of Alexander Vikhrov is timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the death of Napoleon on the island of St. Helena.

Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on May 5, 1821. By sending the former emperor of France into exile, the European monarchs had every reason to hope that this adventurer and upstart would soon be forgotten. But he managed to remind himself. For five and a half years of his life on the island of St. Helena, Napoleon managed to create a convincing and attractive legend for his contemporaries and descendants. The great strategist accurately calculated his every gesture, deed, word, every line in his memoirs dictated by him. And got into the top ten.

“The cult of Napoleon has never been specially planted by anyone. There is some mystical power in his figure, - says the collector Alexander Vikhrov. - Trying to comprehend this amazing life, people in different countries experienced conflicting feelings, torn between condemnation and admiration. And in our country too. Let us recall how the Russian Tsar Nicholas I presented France with a porphyry block for the tomb of Napoleon… This iconic story is reflected in a very unusual form in the exposition of the exhibition. We will show completely "fan" rarities, such as, for example, a lovingly decorated piece of the canopy, under which the emperor died. There are unique gizmos with a secret, where the Bonapartists hid the images of Napoleon so as not to become victims of the royalist terror. And next to it there are engravings by famous masters and a drawing by Mstislav Dobuzhinsky,which is inspired by a poem by Mikhail Lermontov dedicated to Napoleon. "

For romanticism, which then dominated European culture, the image of a hero doomed to a slow death in exile on a tiny island became a real find. Byron, Pushkin, Lermontov wrote about such Napoleon. This is how the artists portrayed him. For the political opposition, which demanded "freedom and a constitution", Napoleon came in handy - "the son of the French revolution" and "the people’s emperor". Those who fought under Napoleon’s "eagles" were ready to believe that traitors and mediocre performers were to blame for the emperor’s failures. And in the memories of their idol, they found many arguments in support of this view.

With his death, this legend began to influence not only politics and literature, but also to shape the objective world of man in Europe and Russia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The deceased became extremely popular. Entrepreneurs, artisans and traders quickly monetized this popularity. Napoleonic legend, having conquered the sphere of ideas, powerfully invaded the world of things.

The Borodino Battle Panorama Museum will present paintings and graphic works, caricatures of the first quarter of the 19th century, a snuff box and a cigarette case with a recognizable profile. The ceremony of transferring the remains of the emperor to Paris on December 15, 1840 is captured in commemorative medals and tokens. We will also show Napoleon’s death mask. Folk crafts, figurines and postcards - all this will make the legend of Napoleon visible, which continues to spread today, ”says Vladimir Presnov, director of the panorama museum.