After Montreal, "Napoleon: Art and Court Life" opens at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is pleased to announce last Saturday’s opening of the exhibition Napoleon: Art and Court Life in the Imperial Palace at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA)****. Under the title Napoleon: Power and Splendor, the exhibition will be on display in Richmond until September 3, 2018. The Montreal edition of the exhibition drew more than 100,000 visitors to the MMFA (February 3 to May 10).
Organized and circulated by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), with the participation of the Château de Fontainebleau and the exceptional support from Mobilier national de France, this major exhibition brings the splendour of Napoleon’s court to life, through the eyes of the Grands officiers and the artists of the “Emperor’s Household.” It revolves around the roles of the key figures that served the Imperial family and contributed to crafting the image of power.
This second leg of the exhibition features more than 200 works and decorative art objects — most being exhibited in the United States for the first time — from prestigious lenders such as the Musée du Louvre and the Château de Fontainebleau. The immersive exhibition layout recreates the opulence of the apartments occupied by Napoleon and his entourage.
Curatorial Staff
The exhibition was curated by Sylvain Cordier, Curator of Early Decorative Arts at the MMFA, under the direction de Nathalie Bondil, Director General and Chief Curator at the MMFA.
A four-stop tour
Following Montreal and Richmond, the exhibition will head to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City (October 26, 2018 – March 3, 2019), and Château de Fontainebleau, France (April 13 – July 15, 2019).
The exhibition Napoleon: Art and Court Life in the Imperial Palace is another of the many projects developed and exported by the MMFA – 20 exhibitions making 60 stops in 34 cities over 10 years – which have taken Montreal’s expertise around the world, such as The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, seen by two million people, and Metamorphoses. In Rodin’s Studio.
Photo: David Stover, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
