Splendeurs de l’Empire, autour de l’Empereur et de la Cour impériale

In the land of the three frontiers, the medieval château de Malbrouck was the location for an exceptional exhibition organised by the Conseil général de la Moselle in partnership with the Fondation Napoléon, with assistance from eighteen museums and cultural institutions, as well as numerous individual collections.

The exhibition included more than three-hundred works of art, objects, documents and historical artefacts which told the story of Napoleon Bonaparte, evoking the “great moments” of his life. But more than that, the collection on display also presented an image of society at the time, considered from different angles and contrasting points of view. Taking place across seven distinct sections (‘Napoléon, regards sur un destin’; ‘Reflets de Napoléon sur le grand écran’; ‘le style “Empire”, un sommet des arts décoratifs’; ‘Napoléon en campagne(s)’; ‘Napoléon, fondateur de la France moderne’; ‘La cour et la famille impériales’; and ‘Napoléon, la Lorraine et les départements de la rive gauche du Rhin’), “Splendeurs de l’Empire” was an interestingly conceived and innovative exhibition featuring a large number of masterpieces.

Place: Château de Malbrouck, Manderen
Dates: 15 March – 31 August, 2009
Curated by: Philippe Hoch and Dominique Laudien for the Conseil général de Moselle; Bernard Chevallier and Karine Huguenaud for the Fondation Napoléon
Scenography: Christian Septon
Catalogue: bilingual catalogue (French-German), available to buy from the publishers Serpenoise.