Exhibition "Napoleon. Life and Fate"

Exhibition "Napoleon. Life and Fate ”will be held from May 22 to August 15, 2019. in the Museum-Estate of the Ants-Apostles. The large-scale exposition includes more than two hundred works of painting, graphic art, sculpture, decorative and applied arts, memorial items, weapons, orders and medals. Many objects of the era of the beginning of the XIX century, recreating the images and the environment of iconic figures of world history, will be shown for the first time. The emperor of the French once married to the sisters of the Russian Tsar Alexander I and was twice refused. In the year of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Napoleon Bonaparte, an exhibition project based on the private collection of Alexander Vikhrov and a number of other large private collections makes it possible to imagine who Russia then refused.

The exhibition addresses the events of the first quarter of the 19th century. The focus is on two extremely dissimilar people. Russian monarch and emperor of the French. Alexander I is the crowned heir to the throne, born on the steps of the throne of the largest country, and Napoleon I is the son of a poor Corsican nobleman who made a dizzying career from the uniform of a lieutenant of the revolutionary French army to the imperial crown and lost everything just as quickly.

Exhibition curator Sergei Podstanitsky: “There are a lot of“ Napoleonic ”collectors in the world, and in Russia, but each of these collections bears the imprint of the owner’s personality. Alexander Vikhrov also has his own, personal view of Napoleonic history. Relying on his richest collection, which presents a wide variety of works of art and memorial items, we tried to show not only Napoleon’s life and his difficult relationships with Russia and Russians, but also fantasize on the topic of alternative history: what would happen if Napoleon did became related to the Romanovs, and how this dream of the emperor of the French came true among his descendants. ”

The exhibition opens with a ceremonial portrait of Alexander I and a bronze bust of Napoleon Bonaparte, inviting the visitor to reflect on how incredible and surprising the intersection of their life lines is. A little-known historical fact is also mentioned: Emperor Napoleon I persistently tried to intermarry with the imperial house of the Romanovs.

History, as you know, does not know the subjunctive mood. But after more than two hundred years, one may ask, what could be the picture of the world if then a dynastic marriage took place? “What a novel is my life!” One day exclaims, already at the end of his years, Napoleon. Exhibition "Napoleon. Life and Fate ”illustrates the brightest pages of his biography and a series of the most important events that determined the turning points and the current world order.

The exposition shows the elevation of Bonaparte to the status of the first person of the state. He is known primarily as the greatest commander, but the emphasis in the exhibition space is not on battle scenes. The motives by which France entered the wars, and the vivid, extraordinary actions of the commander in chief, reflected in works of fine and decorative art of the early 19th century, are important.

Among the milestones preceding the matchmaking, a special page is the tragedy for Russia and the triumphal battle for the French army at Austerlitz, after which a new stage begins in the relations of the two states, which finally culminates in a personal meeting of the two emperors in Tilsit, filled with seemingly peace-loving thoughts. How many hopes both sides pinned on this can be judged by the numerous plots that this event found in the plots of painting, graphics, porcelain and bronze. The character of the joint images of Alexander I and Napoleon I is noteworthy. For example, in the exhibition you can see a unique miniature of that time with a strong hug of the French emperor and the Russian tsar.

In Tilsit, and a year later in Erfurt, there arises the theme of the possibility of strengthening the peace of the two countries by kinship. Napoleon tried in vain to bind the "bonds of friendship" with proposals for a dynastic marriage. Negative answers deeply bruised him. “I would rather marry the last Russian stoker, than this rootless Corsican tyrant,” that is how Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna put it. The exhibition will show the main characters of the Russian Imperial House. This side is brightly and meaningfully represented by the unique exhibits of the collection of Sergey and Tatyana Podstanitsky, as well as the collection of Sergey Vasiliev.

The decisive refusal of the Romanov family, however, meant one thing for the rejected groom: a head-on collision with Russia was inevitable. Ahead was the war, the price of which we know - a million human lives. These events of the campaign to Moscow and its inglorious completion were reflected in the exhibition, because it was Russia that became the arena of the most important, tragic events of that era. Here is the beginning of the collapse of the great empire of Napoleon, his foreign policy and all his plans.

The project provides an opportunity to trace the path of Napoleon to his very last days of exile on the island of St. Helena. Turning over the final pages of his life, in which the “sworn friend” Alexander I remains as the winner, one may again wonder what would happen if..?

The exposition is located in the House-Museum of Ant-Apostles on Old Basmannaya Street. The main building of the noble estate is one of the few wooden buildings in Moscow that survived the fire of 1812. It is noteworthy that the sons of the owner of the estate I.M. Muravyov-Apostol fought against the Napoleonic army, and subsequently were among the creators of secret societies and participants in the uprising of 1825. At present, thanks to the efforts of the descendant of the old family Christopher Muravyov-Apostol, the estate was restored and the appearance of the beginning of the 19th century was restored to it.

Days and opening hours: Wednesday – Friday: 14.00 - 20.00; Saturday: 2 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Tickets: 150 - 350 rubles.

Project author: Alexander Vikhrov
Curator of the exhibition: Sergey Podstanitsky