2021 is the Year of Napoleon, celebrating 200 years since his death, and as part of the proceedings the Army Museum – not far from our hotels – has a new exhibitions entitled Napoleon is no more, winding up a series of events dedicated to the life and personality of a man sometimes called “the god of war personified”.

There is still a lot to say about Napoleon, his life and particularly his death. This new exhibition at the Army Museum goes back over the main elements of the great man’s demise from a new perspective, made possible by advances in archeology, medicine and science.

Adding these to the historical sources already available and the written accounts of the event, the museum gives you all the information necessary for you to get a fully-rounded appreciation of what happened.

It’s no secret that Napoleon inspired numerous paintings, caricatures and even songs, and the exhibition presents three exceptional paintings (by François Trichot, Louis-Edmond Dupain and Louis Béroud), freshly restored thanks to sponsorships and a partnership with the Napoleon Foundation. A very special enamel micro-mosaic of the man is also on show for the first time, as well as a surprising sealed box containing the keys to Napoleon’s coffin.

You’ll also be able to admire the bed Napoleon died in, his bedside clock, death mask, will (in twenty parts that took a fortnight to write!) and even the surgical items used for his autopsy.

The exhibition also talks about Sainte-Hélène, where Napoleon’s ashes resided for nearly 20 years before being transferred to Les Invalides, where his incredible tomb was only finished in 1861.

To mark this Year of Napoleon, the part of the museum’s permanent collection dedicated to Napoleon has been redesigned, and two years of restoration of his tomb have just finished, partly thanks to 2,310 donors who collectively raised nearly 837,000€.

Related to the exhibition, you can watch the inauguration live on 31st March at 7PM CET, with a virtual visit in the company of YouTuber scribeaccroupi, accompanied by the curators. Just click here.

Guided visits are available (including a ‘privileged’ one led by one of the curators, which is held in the evening after the museum has closed to the public), and there are also:

— conferences,

— concerts based on Mozart”s famous Requiem,

— a special evening called ‘Napoleon Game On’ on 8th May, during which you can discover more about the man via videogames,

— free online courses (no doubt in French)…

And if you have bought a ticket to the other big Napoleon exhibition at La Villette you qualify for reduced-price entry for this one (and vice-versa).

And finally, a catalogue of the exhibition has just been published (352 pages, 35€ here at amazon.fr).

The Napoleon is no more exhibition is at the Army Museum (here) from 19th May – 31st October 2021

Open every day from 10am-6pm (9pm Tuesdays)

Admission: 14€ / 11€ / free for under-18s

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

#NapoleonNestPlus

What3Words ///waffle.thudded.revisit

[#FermésMaisPrésents] Le montage de l’exposition #NapoleonNestPlus est toujours en cours avec l’arrivée d’une micro-mosaïque représentant #Napoleon.

L’œuvre a récemment rejoint les collections du #Musée.

L’exposition est co-organisée avec la @FondaNapoleon #2021AnneeNapoleon pic.twitter.com/6I1OqNuIeN

— Musée de l’Armée – Invalides (@MuseeArmee) March 19, 2021

Voir cette publication sur Instagram

Une publication partagée par Musée de l’Armée – Invalides (@museearmee_invalides)