Napoleon and the Red of Empire

Friday, 08 January 2016

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Jacob Frères, armchair (fauteuil) from the Council Room (Salle du Conseil), Malmaison, France, 1800. Painted and gilded beech; original under-upholstery and red wool show cover (silk, velvet, and gilded silver trim), 38 x 26. x 28 in. New York Historical Society, gift of Louis Borg, 1867.438. © New York Historical Society.

One of the objects on view in "The Red that Colored the World" is an armchair used by Napoleon Bonaparte in his Council Room at Malmaison. The well-preserved piece even bears some enigmatic scratches that some have suggested may be from the impatient Emperor himself whittling away at the chair while brainstorming in the cabinet. The chair was produced by the Jacob Frères, George II and François-Honoré Jacob to whom their father George Jacobs had left the family business. George Jacobs’ clients, amongst many, included Marie Antoinette and Jacques-Louis David. As a result, the Jacob Frères inherited royal and aristocratic patrons still familiar with their father's work while their continued quality and elegance garnered them an elite reputation across society. Like their father, they crafted work based upon the designs of Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine. Renowned architects and designers, Percier and Fontaine were stylistically influenced by their travels to historic Roman and Egyptian sites and much of the iconography was transposed into designs for Napoleon, notably their decorations and costumes for his coronation. A confirmed patroness, Empress Josephine commissioned a variety of pieces to furnish the royal residences and the chairs in the First Consul room at Malmaison which were dyed brilliant cochineal red; an expensive red for an unambiguous statement of political power and prestige.


Portrait de Napoléon Bonaparte en premier consul 1803-1804, oil on canvas, 226 × 144 cm (89 × 56.7 in) Musée des beaux-arts de Liège Source: Wikipedia Commons

Historically, red has signified a variety of ideas across different cultures. For the Ancient Chinese red was luck, for the Ancient Egyptians red signified danger, and for the Classical Roman Papacy red was the perfect choice for Cardinal robes. Through the Enlightenment in Europe, red was the color of royalty. Aristocracy, luxury, status, and privilege were meant to be demonstrated in one's choice of red for a cape, formal attire, and even one's furniture. Red was a purposeful statement that demonstrated Napoleon's power, vitality, and strength. The red in his consul room echoed the richly symbolic military color of the great Roman Empire and was meant to align his image with a chain of powerful historical figures that shared the color red. Napoleon's hairstyle was even meant to emulate the rulers of the great Roman Empire and he was savvy about the ways his image conveyed what he wanted the populace to know or at least believe. This ideal was also reproduced in portraits of Napoleon that included a profusion of red as well as furniture attributed to the Jacob Frères. In Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres' portrait of Napoleon, Bonaparte, Premier Consul (1804), the emperor is stridently posed in a brilliant red, staunchly confident and assured of his right to rule. The chair in this piece strongly resembles the chair from Malmaison in the "The Red that Colored the World." As the brothers provided much furniture for the residence it’s a possibility that they produced the chair depicted in the portrait as well. In Ingres work Napoleon I on His Imperial Throne (1806), Napoleon is perched upon a throne fashioned by the Jacob Frères. Ingres augmented the back arch to three times its actual size to illustrate Napoleon's stature and political body. A detailed artist, Ingres was acutely aware of each element and its meaning within the royal portraits. The political iconography of Napoleon and his legacy in the paintings of Ingres lies in part in the red of empire. The Jacob Frères armchair on view is one remnant left of that vast political machine that also managed to foster art and leave us with visions of a past whose profound awareness of the power and persuasiveness of images and colors strongly resembles our own culture.

Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne

1806, oil on canvas, 259 x 162 cm (102 x 63.8 in)

Musée de l'Armée

Source: Wikipedia Commons

This exhibition was organized by the Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, and made possible by the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities and circulating through GuestCurator Traveling Exhibitions. The exhibition was generously supported by Orange County Fine Art Storage.

Text and images may be under copyright. Please contact Collection Department for permission to use. Information subject to change upon further research.

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