‘Symbols Of Power’ Showcases

 Napoleon, Empire Style

Nearly 200 Works In Exhibit At MFA, Boston

2 cuts at 1 ½ col

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Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780–1867), “Napoleon I on His Imperial Throne (Napoleon Enthroned),” 1806, oil on canvas, Musée de l’Armée, Paris. Courtesy of the American Federation of Arts.

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Henry Auguste (French, 1759–1816), “The Empress’s Nef (Nef de l’Imperatrice du Grand vermeil),” 1804, gilded silver, 26¾ by 285/16 by 135/8 inches, Musée National du Château, Fontainebleau; on deposit from the Mobilier National, Paris. Courtesy of the American Federation of Arts.

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‘SYMBOLS OF POWER’ SHOWCASES NAPOLEON, EMPIRE STYLE w/2 cuts

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BOSTON, MASS. — From his ornately carved gilded throne, Napoleon ruled much of early Nineteenth Century Europe. One of his four surviving thrones, opulently upholstered in rich red velvet and accented with imperial emblems, is among the nearly 200 works of art to be featured at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in “Symbols of Power: Napoleon and the Art of the Empire Style, 1800–1815,” on view through January 27 in the MFA’s Gund Gallery.

The exhibition, organized by the American Federation of Arts, New York, and Les Arts Decoratifs, Paris, features paintings, sculpture, costumes, silver, jewelry and furniture.

The exhibition will bring the grandeur of Napoleon’s empire and the splendor of his palaces at Fontainebleau, Versailles, Compiegne and Saint-Cloud to Boston. Many of the works shown are masterpieces of the period and have never before been seen outside of France.

A highlight of the exhibition, the monumental coronation paintings, “Napoleon I on His Imperial Throne,” by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 1806, measuring 8½ by 5¼ feet (Musee de l’Armee, Paris), shows Napoleon enrobed in ermine and velvet, crowned like Caesar, and holding the scepter and hand of justice of Charlemagne.

Objects made for Napoleon and his wife, Josephine, crowned emperor and empress in 1804, are a focal point of the exhibition. Their love affair is legendary, and made tangible by the inclusion in the exhibition of “Empress Josephine’s Letter Box,” 1805–1810” (Fondation Napoleon, Paris), a rootwood, ebony, and gilded bronze box that contained the many love letters sent to her by Napoleon. Also display is Napoleon’s Sword, 1806 (Musee National Chateau de Fontainebleau). Designed for use at official functions, it was made from gold, enamel, steel and tortoiseshell.

Napoleon came to power during the turbulent political climate of the late Eighteenth Century. In France, angry mobs had stormed the Bastille on July 14, 1789, beginning a revolution and setting in motion ten years of instability that peaked in the Reign of Terror (1793–94), during which King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette and thousands of aristocrats were executed.

Society was turned upside down in the name of liberte, egalite, fraternite (liberty, equality, brotherhood), and France declared war on neighboring monarchies. Out of this tableau rose Napoleon Bonaparte, and ambitious and resourceful general who achieved political power as the First Consul in the Consulate government (1799–1804), then crowned himself emperor (1804–1814). With his regime came a bold new artistic style that celebrated the military power and grandeur of imperial France.

“As emperor, Napoleon allied himself with the great civilizations of the past, especially those of classical Rome and Greece and ancient Egypt, as a means of legitimizing his reign and creating an illusion of permanence, grandeur and monumentality,” said Malcolm Rogers, Ann and Graham Gund Director of the Museum of Fine Arts. “This exhibition represents a rare opportunity to see many spectacular objects made for Napoleon and Josephine, which reflect then new French style that evolved from the austerity of the Revolution to the splendor of imperial France.”

“Symbols of Power: Napoleon and the Art of the Empire Style, 1800–1815” is the first comprehensive survey of the decorative arts of late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Century France and of the iconography pervasive in all the arts at the time.

Many of the most important works of the Empire period will be displayed, representing virtually every visual medium: furniture, silver, porcelain, gilt bronzes, clocks, drawings, illustrated books, jewelry, costume, glass, sculpture, wallpapers, firearms, textiles and carpets, as well as paintings. These works reflect the influence of Charles Percier and Pierre-Francois-Leonard Fontaine, the official architects and designers of the Empire, who defined a new visual language glorifying the military and political power of the emperor.

The exhibition examines the artistic use of classical emblems of power — the Roman eagle, a symbol of imperial Rome and the god Jupiter; the laurel wreath, representing victory; and Mars, Roman god of war — to underscore the military strength of France under Napoleon.

Paintings such as Robert Jacques Francois Faust Lefevre’s “Portrait of Napoleon I in His Coronation Robes,” 1812 (MFA, Boston) attest to the emperor’s dominant presence on the world stage. A steel and brass ceremonial breastplate, “Napoleon’s Cuirass, circa 1805 (Musee Carnavalet, Paris), presented to the emperor by Parisian armorers in 1805, is decorated with an image of Mars intended to flatter him as a great military leader.

The museum is at 465 Huntington Avenue. For information, www.mfa.org or 617-267-9300.