Expositions in the Vestingmuseum

With some regularity there are exhibitions in the Nederlands Vestingmuseum related to the fortification or the history of Naarden.

Napoleon, “Vive L’Empereur”

 

More than 200 years ago in 1815, Emperor Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.He was exiled to the island of Saint Helena in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where he died on May 5, 1821. The exhibition Napoleon “Vive L’Empereur” can be seen from 20 October 2019 to 29 March 2020 in Het Nederlands Vestingmuseum.

Photos and soldiers of Napoleon are a strange combination. After all, photography was not invented until 1825, more than ten years after the last battle of Napoleon’s Grande Armée. However, even after the Emperor’s death, his soldiers remained loyal to him. On the anniversary of Napoleon’s death, war veterans traveled to Paris every year to commemorate their leader on Place du Vendôme. On one of these occasions, probably in 1858, these pictures were taken. They show veterans of all the Napoleonic Wars, most of whom are now very elderly. They all wear their original uniform and the Saint Helena medal, which was introduced in 1857 by Emperor Napoleon III, the son of King Louis of Holland and the nephew of Napoleon I. The photos are in the collection of the Brown University Library, Providence (USA).

Death mask Napoleon

115 / 5.000 Vertaalresultaten star_border At the time of Napoleon it was customary to make a death mask from the faces of deceased celebrities. On May 7, British physician Francis Burton makes an impression of Napoleon’s head using a mixture of wax and plaster. If he makes a positive cast, the original impression will be damaged. Napoleon’s personal physician François Carlo Antommarchi then reconstructs the print into a complete version with the help of the English artist Joseph William Rubidge who is present on the island. Several casts are then allegedly made on Saint Helena. Rubridge sends two to England. One of these casts will be auctioned in London in 2013 for £170,000. Antommarchi takes a copy to France and in 1833 starts a trade in bronze casts made by tender. Until the early twentieth century, bronze and plaster copies of the Antommarchi mask were made in France. The death mask of Napoleon can be seen in the exhibition Napoleon “Vive L’Empereur”.

May 21, 2022: Waterline Walking Tour 2022

The Dutch Fortress Museum will host the Waterline Walking Tour on 21 May 2022. The museum is closed for museum visits on this day.