This summer, from 11 July to 31 August, a major exhibition will focus on the intertwined destinies of the Napoleonic dynasty and the princes of Monaco.

Under the patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, the exhibition features numerous masterpieces from French public collections, the Fondation Napoléon and prestigious private collectors, recounting the astonishing interweaving of French imperial history with the exceptional history of the Princes of Monaco throughout the 19th century. The exhibition is co-organized by the Fondation Napoléon, the Archives of the Palais princier de Monaco, and the Musée Collection des Arts – David and Mikhail Iakobachvili.

More than 180 works will be on display, including some forty from the Fondation Napoléon’s collection:

• Napoleon in his Coronation robes, by Marie-Victoire Jaquotot
• Tapered Fuseau Vase, with a portrait of the Emperor in coronation regalia, Manufacture de Sèvres
• Personal table service of the Emperor, Manufacture de Sèvres
• Josephine’s correspondance Cache by Martin-Guillaume Biennais
• Josephine’s punch bowl by Martin-Guillaume Biennais
• ‘Nécessaire’ belonging to the Duchesse d’Otrante by Martin-Guillaume Biennais

General curator: Pierre BRANDA (Academic Director of the Fondation Napoléon)
Assistant curators: Thomas FOUILLERON, (Director of the Archives and Library of the Princely Palace of Monaco), and Thomas BLANCHY (Assistant to the Director of the Archives and Library of the Princely Palace of Monaco).
Ambassador: Louis Ducruet
Organizer and sponsor: Musée Collection des Arts – David et Mikhail lakobachvili
In collaboration with the Fondation Napoléon

Scenography: Svetlana CHURAEVA (Artistic Director, Musée Collection des Arts), Yana STREVY, (Deputy Artistic Director, Musée Collection des Arts) in collaboration with William CHATELAIN (Head of Studies and Space Design, Grimaldi Forum), Augustin SERRES (Event Space Designer, Grimaldi Forum).

Catalogue: published by Silvana Editoriale. In addition to the historical studies written by the three curators, it will include contributions from Charles-Éloi Vial (Secretary General of the Institut Napoléon and curator at the Bibliothèque nationale de France’s Department of Manuscripts), Alain Bottaro (Chief Curator of Heritage, responsible for the Fonds patrimonial de la Médiathèque de Monaco) and Ilia Malakhov (art historian, historian and curator at the Musée Collection des Arts – David et Mikhail Iakobachvili).

WEBSITE: all information, ticketing, interviews with the curators, a preview of some of the masterpieces presented, on the dedicated website exposition-monaco-napoleon.com (available in French English and Italian)

Free Audioguides at the exhibition available in English Italian and French.

DATES: 11 July to 31 August 2025
OPENING HOURS: open daily from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, with late-night openings on Thursdays until 10:00 pm
LOCATION: Diaghilev Hall at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco – 10, avenue Princesse Grace – 98000 Monaco

published 26 June 2025