Napoleon – In the Name of Art is a documentary film which premiered in 2021.
The timing is significant. This film premiered in 2021 in order to mark and remember the 200-year anniversary of Napoleon’s death in 1821.
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Director: Giovanni Piscaglia
** Writers: Didi Gnocchi and Matteo Moneta
** Host and presenter: Jeremy Irons
** Languages: French, English
** Run time: 100 minutes
Many persons are interviewed in the film. Here are the names of the participants (in alphabetical order):
** Marco Belpoliti – Italian writer
** Charles Bonaparte – politician – descendant of the Bonaparte family
** James Bradburne – director of the national library (Biblioteca Braidense) in Milan
** Assem El Dessouki – Egyptian historian
** Charlotte Duvette – French historian
** Ernesto Ferrero – Italian writer
** Peter Hicks – British historian
** Jean-Luc Martinez – art historian – former director of the Louvre
** Lucia Miazzo – art historian
** Marco Pace – music director
** Chantal Prévot – French writer
** Aude Semat – curator, the Department of Egyptian Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
** Salvatore Settis – Italian archaeologist
** Ilaria Sgarbozza – Italian art historian
** Licia Sirch – professor of music
There are numerous books and films about Napoleon Bonaparte.
This film offers an interesting angle on the life and career of Napoleon: the role which he played in the world of art and the role which art played in his life.
Napoleon was fascinated by art. He realized that art could be used as propaganda for the government. He wanted to use art as propaganda for his own government.
Whenever he made a new conquest, he told his agents to look for precious works of art in the newly-conquered territory. His agents found and captured numerous works of art and transported them to France.
Napoleon believed these items should be available to the people in public museums in France. They should not be locked away in private collections.
After his military campaign in Egypt, he turned the Louvre, a former royal palace, into an art museum.
He appointed Vivant Denon (1747-1825), who had been with him during the Egyptian campaign, to be the first director of this museum.
In 1815, when Napoleon was defeated and sent into exile, the victors decided that some of the stolen items should be returned to the original owners.
In this film, the history of Napoleon and the role which he played in the world of art is told not only by the fifteen persons who are interviewed but also by the host and presenter, the British actor Jeremy Irons, who makes a significant contribution to this film.
What do reviewers say about this film?
On IMDb it has a rating of 69 percent.
There is only one user review on IMDb. This review offers a rating of 100 percent.
IMDb also offers links to two Dutch reviews of this film. Here are the basic details of these reviews:
Cine Magazine – 29 September 2022
** Review by Alberto Ciaccio
** The rating is 2.5 stars = 50 percent
Film Total – 28 September 2022
** Review by Kaj Van Zoelen
** The rating is 3 stars = 60 percent
As you can see, the ratings are quite good. I like this film and I want to offer a good rating, but I cannot follow the user review posted on IMDb; I cannot go all the way to the top, because this film has a flaw which cannot be ignored.
What is wrong?
Let me explain:
In the beginning of the film, Jeremy Irons tells us about the early life of Napoleon:
“He was born on 15 August 1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica, and raised there till, at the age of nine, he was dispatched to the Brienne Military Academy in France.”
Most of this brief account is true, but one detail is not true. This brief account of Napoleon’s early life does not include Autun!
What is Autun?
Why is this place so important?
Auton is a small town, located ca. 295 km southeast of Paris, which was founded by the Romans.
The ancient name of the town is inspired by the name of the Roman Emperor Augustus. The Latin name of the town is Augustodunum.
Hence the modern name Autun.
In January 1779, Napoleon and his older brother Joseph arrived in this town in the company of their father, who was on his way to a meeting in Versailles. Both boys were enrolled in the local school.
Napoleon did not stay long. In April 1779, after less than four months in Autun, he left to join the Brienne Military Academy.
His brother remained in Autun. He was a student until August 1783. A third brother, Lucien Bonaparte, was a student from November 1782 to August 1784. Today, the school is still there. It is named after the three brothers who came from Corsica:
Lycée Bonaparte
Napoleon did not go straight from Corsica to the military academy in Brienne. He spent almost four months at a school in Autun before joining the military academy in Brienne.
Why is this detail so important? What is the big deal about Autun? Here is the answer:
The young Napoleon may have spent less than four months in Autun, but for some reason this place made a big and lasting impression on him.
As an adult - first a military officer, later a politician, and finally an emperor - he would often travel all over France. And when he did, he often chose to make a stop in the small town where he went to school when he was a boy.
When he stayed overnight, he would always stay at Auberge de la Poste. The hotel is still there. Today it is known as Hotel Saint-Louis et de la Poste.
Here is a list of his visits to Autun:
** The first time = in May 1798, when he was on the way to Egypt = he stayed overnight
** The second time = in January 1802, when he was on the way to Lyon = he stayed overnight
** The third time = on 16 April 1805, he stopped to change horses when he was on the way to Milan = in 1805 he was Emperor of the French
** The fourth time = on 31 December 1807, while he was travelling from Turin to Paris = the emperor stayed overnight
** The fifth time = on 15 March 1815, when he was on the way to Paris = he stayed overnight = this was after his bold escape from Elba = this was during the 100 days when he made a comeback as Emperor of the French
It is obvious that Napoleon was very fond of Autun. He must have had a special feeling for this small town, since he returned so many times.
As a military officer, as a politician, and as an emperor, he could choose any town or village to stop for the night. But he kept coming back to this small town where he went to school when he was a boy.
Napoleon had a clear affection for Autun. This is why it is a fatal flaw to ignore his brief time in this town in a description of his early life. If you forget to mention Autun, something important is missing!
I have to remove one star because of this flaw. I think this product deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).
PS. I was in Autun a few years ago (2009). While I was there, I visited the archaeological monuments which were built in antiquity.
I also stopped to look at the place where Napoleon and his brothers went to school more than 200 years ago and to look at the hotel where he stayed more than once when he was travelling all over France.
REFERENCES
Monsieur N
(2003)
Napoleon: The Russian Campaign
(2015) (two episodes)
Napoleon: The Egyptian Campaign
(2016) (two episodes)
Les îles de Napoléon
(2021)
A Tour of the Louvre
(2021)
*****
The British actor Jeremy Irons
(born 1948)
Host and presenter of this documentary
about Napoleon and the world of art
*****
Lycée Bonaparte
Autun
Napoleon Bonaparte was a student
at this school for less than four months
when he was a boy
*****
Napoleon's favorite hotel
Saint-Louis et de la Poste
Autun
*****
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