Fondation Napoléon > Disappointment after the refusal of the Paris Musée de l’Armée to move elsewhere the planned artistic installation of a reproduction of the skeleton of the horse, “Marengo”, above the Emperor’s Tomb (May 2021)

Fondation Napoléon > Disappointment after the refusal of the Paris Musée de l’Armée to move elsewhere the planned artistic installation of a reproduction of the skeleton of the horse, “Marengo”, above the Emperor’s Tomb (May 2021)
The tomb of Napoleon I in the crypt of the Dome Church at the Hôtel des Invalides, tomb built 1842-1853 by Louis Tullius Joachim Visconti (1791-1853) © Musée de l'Armée-RMN Grand Palais, Emilie Cambier

COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE – 7 May 2021

The Fondation Napoléon regrets the refusal of the Paris Musée de l’Armée to move elsewhere the planned artistic installation of a reproduction of the skeleton of the horse, “Marengo”, above the Emperor’s Tomb.

As part of its contemporary art exhibition “Napoleon? Encore!”, which opens on 7 May 2021, the Musée de l’Armée has commissioned several works from renowned artists. One of them is an installation above the Emperor’s Tomb of a reproduction in composite material of the skeleton of the horse called “Marengo”, the original of which is kept in the National Army Museum in London.

Whilst it is normal for the Museum to be open to contemporary art, the choice of location for this installation, in the heart of the necropolis of France’s military glories, and moreover at a time when the bicentenary of the death of Napoleon I is being commemorated, does not seem appropriate. The Fondation Napoléon asked the director of the Musée de l’Armée to move the work to another location.

This request was not taken into consideration, and the Fondation can only regret this refusal.

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