Main entry:

Wilson-Smith, Timothy.

Title & Author:

Napoleon and his artists / Timothy Wilson-Smith.

Publication:

London : Constable, 1996.

Description:

xxx, 306 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 25 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-297) and index.
The first French revolutions -- The Republic becomes dictatorial -- The art of becoming a hero -- Le style Directoire (1795-9) -- From First Consul to Emperor -- Imperial designers -- Imperial fashion and the painters' models -- Imperial artists : painters and sculptors -- The Napoleonic Empire and the diffusion of Empire décor -- Continental blockade and the defeat of the Empire style -- Denon and the art of conquest -- The failure of the Napoleonic Epic.

Summary:

"For twenty years, Napoleon seemed to stride the world like a Colossus. Invincible hero to his countrymen and their allies, monstrous and terrifying to his enemies, he was a legend in his own lifetime. But legends are made as well as born, and as Timothy Wilson-Smith fascinatingly reveals, Napoleon's gigantic stature rested not only on his personal and military genius but on his deliberate exploitation of the visual arts. Using architects to design the most sumptuous settings for him, sculptors to make his presence felt all over France, and painters to commemorate every incident in his career, he created for himself an image that was larger than life and would endure long beyond his death." "Napoleon and his Artists tells of an age rich with the names of David, Gericault, Gerard, Ingres, the sculptors Houdon and Canova. It shows how the Neo-Classicism of the period, which - literally - enabled artists to draw comparisons between Napoleon and Alexander, Napoleon and Julius Caesar, was transformed into le style Empire, its formalities glamorised by motifs taken from the Egyptian campaigns. It describes how, just as Augustus rebuilt Rome, Napoleon worked through his architects Fontaine and Percier to recreate Paris as the premier capital of Europe; and how the grandiose personal myth he so carefully fostered informed every area of art and craft, from furniture to military uniforms, carpets to ceramics."--Jacket.

ISBN:

0094761108
9780094761100
0094790507
9780094790506
0094756007
9780094756007

Subject:

Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821 Influence.
Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821
Napoleon I. Frankreich, Kaiser 1769-1821
Napoleon (Frankreich, Kaiser, I.)
Neoclassicism (Architecture) France Paris.
Art and state France History 19th century.
Néoclassicisme (Architecture) France Paris.
Art Politique gouvernementale France Histoire 19e siècle.
Art and state
Buildings
Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.)
Neoclassicism (Architecture)
Künstler
Höfische Kunst
Beeldende kunsten.
Politieke aspecten.
Beeldvorming.
Paris (France) Buildings, structures, etc.
France
France Paris
Napoléon <France, Empereur, I.>

Form/genre:

Biography
Biographies
History

Holdings:

Location: Library main 192742
Call No.: ID N6846.5.N4.W5; ID:97-B3813
Status: Available