The bicentenary of the death of Napoleon corresponds to the two-hundredth anniversary of 5 May 1821, the date of his death. To mark the occasion, commemorative ceremonies and events (such as exhibitions and conferences) were organized around the world, including in France and Belgium in 2021. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of events were adapted or postponed to a later date. The bicentenary had also been the subject of much debate in France concerning the organization of commemorations and Napoleon's legacy.
Official ceremonies
On 10 March, government spokesman Gabriel Attal confirmed that French president Emmanuel Macron had decided to commemorate Napoleon personally. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the French authorities kept the bicentenary commemorations to a minimum.
On the afternoon of 5 May, Emmanuel Macron went to the Institut de France to take part in a ceremony with academics and high-school students, and to give a speech. Several other personalities, including historian Jean Tulard, also spoke at the event. The French President then laid a wreath at the foot of the Emperor's tomb under the dome of the Invalides, accompanied by Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon.
Local initiatives in France complemented the government ceremonies. On 4 May, the Souvenir Napoléonien laid a wreath at the foot of the Emperor's statue in Cherbourg.
On 5 May, the elected representatives of Val-de-la-Haye in Normandy also laid a wreath in front of the Napoleon column, in the presence of the Prefect of Normandy and Seine-Maritime. Indeed, in 1840, Val-de-la-Haye was the site of the last transfer of the Emperor's coffin to a steamer, which later sailed up the Seine to Paris.
Various ceremonies were also held on the island of St. Helena, where Napoleon died. On 5 May, a ceremony was held at Longwood House. On 6 May, a mass was held in the emperor's chapel. Finally, on 9 May, the emperor was laid to rest. These events were broadcast live on the Internet.
Events in mainland France Dozens of events were organized throughout France, including exhibitions, symposia, publications, events, and ceremonies.
This was particularly the case in member towns of the "Villes impériales" label, such as Fontainebleau and Rueil-Malmaison, which have made their Napoleonic identity a driving force in terms of cultural influence.
Exhibitions To mark the bicentenary, a host of exhibitions were scheduled throughout France, highlighting Napoleon's legacy in the arts, business, politics and science.
Grande halle de la Villette
The most important of these was the "Napoleon" exhibition at the Grande halle de la Villette in Paris. Conceived as a "biopic" on the emperor, it aimed to do as well as the Tutankhamun, the Pharaoh's Treasure exhibition, which welcomed 1.4 million visitors in 2019.
"The idea is to link Napoleon to the period before and after, so that the public can re-read their own French history in a different way. Particularly with regard to Europe. Napoleon isn't an eclipse in the sky, he's part of the solar system", explained Arthur Chevallier, one of the exhibition's scientific curators.
For the occasion, over 150 paintings, sculptures and various objects were loaned by Napoleonic funds (the Fondation Napoléon, as well as the châteaux of Versailles, Fontainebleau, Malmaison and the Musée de l'Armée). To bring the exhibition to life, the tour was enhanced by multimedia features such as "sound showers", where visitors could hear Josephine's love letters or music from David's coronation of Napoleon, or battle scenes, where figures and maps came to life.
Nonetheless, the exhibition's staging remained uncertain for a long time, with some of La Villette's overseas employees threatening to exercise their right of withdrawal, despite the existence of a chapter on slavery. According to the newspaper Le Parisien, the exhibition's organizers called on the "Fondation pour la mémoire de l'esclavage" to "give guarantees to those who see the exhibition in a negative light".
"The idea of this chronological exhibition is to present a Napoleon for dummies that gives a balanced vision of Napoleon, not just a hagiographic one" explained the exhibition's chief curator Bernard Chevalier. The exhibition opened to the public from 28 May to 19 December 2021.
Musée de l'Armée
Also in Paris, the Musée de l'Armée, located in the Hôtel des Invalides, organized an exhibition entitled "Napoléon n'est plus". Produced in partnership with the Fondation Napoléon, the exhibition revisited the major issues surrounding Napoleon's death, drawing on various scientific disciplines (archaeology, medicine, and chemistry). It also presented the public with Napoleon's original will, preserved in the Archives nationales. Originally planned for 31 March, the opening of the exhibition was postponed to 19 May, due to the health crisis. Prior to the official opening to the public, the museum organized a virtual inauguration of its exhibition on 30 March, hosted by influencer Scribe Accroupi, to showcase the exhibition's key works.
"Our subject is how and why, through his death, Napoleon's image evolved considerably, and it was in death that he became who he is today", explained Emilie Robbe, Chief Curator of Heritage at the Musée de l'Armée.
The Musée de l'Armée, as part of its "Napoléon? Encore!" contemporary art program, also commissioned Pascal Convert to create a work for the dome of the Invalides. Entitled "Memento Marengo" it consisted of a three-dimensional copy of the skeleton of Napoleon's favorite horse, suspended above the Emperor's tomb. As the artist explained, "Napoleon's favourite horse, Marengo, [was] captured by Wellington's troops at Waterloo on June 18, 1815 and taken to England on his death, as a prize of war, like a sacred relic, it was reduced to its skeleton and exhibited at the National Army Museum, where it can still be seen".
The installation of the work in this location provoked controversy, notably on the part of historian Thierry Lentz. Several historians pointed out that the dome was a necropolis, not an exhibition space, while others expressed their dismay at its macabre symbolism. Thought to be presented there on a temporary basis, it was withdrawn on 13 February 2022, along with those of the 29 other artists invited for the same event.
Other Parisian exhibitions To celebrate the bicentenary, Chaumet, the official jeweler of Napoleon's first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais, organized an original exhibition at its hotel at 12 place Vendôme in Paris, starting 10 May 2021. Called "Joséphine & Napoléon, une histoire (extra)ordinaire", the exhibition brought together more than 150 pieces (jewelry creations, paintings, objets d'art, letters, and graphic documents) from Chaumet's heritage, as well as from private collections and various cultural institutions.
Other exhibitions were also organized from September 2021 onwards. These included the "Les Palais disparus de Napoléon Ier" exhibition at the Manufacture des Gobelins, which recreated former imperial residences (the Tuileries, Saint-Cloud and Meudon palaces) using digital reconstructions.
The "Sur les pas de Napoléon Ier" exhibition at the Musée de la Monnaie de Paris presented the evolution of French coinage, the symbolism of the Imperial Eagle and their role in Napoleonic propaganda.
Outside Paris From 16 April 2021, the town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye presented a virtual exhibition entitled "Napoléon, chef de guerre, chef d'État" retracing Napoléon's destiny as First Consul and then Emperor, with a particular focus on his role alongside his soldiers on the battlefield.
In Lavaur, in the Tarn department, an exhibition on Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult was scheduled for May 2021, but was subject to changing sanitary conditions.
In Châteauroux, an exhibition entitled "Napoléon et Bertrand, le retour des héros" was scheduled to start in June 2021, which coincided with the centenary of the Musée Bertrand.
At the Sainte-Mère-Église media library, an exhibition on the Emperor's battles was scheduled to open in May 2021.
In Fontainebleau, an exhibition entitled "Un palais pour l'Empereur. Napoleon at Fontainebleau" presented the château as Napoleon and Joséphine designed it, with more than 200 works from Fontainebleau collections and French and foreign museums.
Finally, in Nice, the "Napoléon, héros de la littérature" exhibition focused on the Napoleonic myth in the works of writers such as Balzac and Stendhal.
Conferences and symposia While waiting for the museums to reopen, some institutions were adapting to offer a cultural program around the bicentenary.
The Château de Fontainebleau, for example, organized a videoconference open to the public on 8 April 2021, hosted by the château's general curator, Christophe Beyeler. The conference, entitled "Napoléon Ier, un personnage à revisiter et un musée à reconstruire" presented the museographic work carried out as part of the bicentenary to revamp and enrich the museum's historical works.
On 19 April 2021, the Bibliothèque nationale de France also organized a virtual conference on the ten collections of "Dessins pour l'ouvrage de la commission d'Égypte" which bore witness to the Egyptian campaign and the participation of scholars in it.
A conference was held also to be organized later that year by the municipality of Cherbourg, the town that had welcomed Napoleon's ashes in 1840. The town's deputy for culture and heritage, Catherine Gentile, explained:We're planning a conference on the legacy of Napoleon I in the city, with the participation of specialists on the French emperor. It will focus on the institutional framework conditioned under his reign, which has left its mark on the city.Lastly, a number of symposia were scheduled for later 2021. These included “Les Savants en Égypte et la campagne militaire” organized by the Musée archéologique de Saint-Raphaël in October 2021, and “Les guerres napoléoniennes dans l'Histoire: de 1815 à nos jours, historiographie et apports à l'histoire de la guerre” at the Musée de l'Armée in November 2021.
Other events
In Paris, a parade featuring a military platoon in Napoleonic dress, with 500 participants in period costumes, was planned along the Champs Elysées, from the Arc de Triomphe to Les Invalides. Originally scheduled for May 2021, it was postponed due to health restrictions.
In Châteauroux, a major imperial weekend, including colloquia and re-enactments of bivouacs and battles, was scheduled for 2 and 3 October 2021.
In Châtillon-sur-Seine, a major show and concert were scheduled for 14 August 2021 in the town hall square, with the participation of actor Francis Huster.
In Lavaur, the birthplace of Las Cases, a weekend of events focusing on the Napoleonic Empire was scheduled for 22 and 23 May 2021. The event included a bivouac, parades, pistol duels, training and exercises on horses, dance demonstrations, lectures and a craftsmen's market.
In Marseille, the Maison de la Corse and the Société Napoléonienne de Marseille organized a mass commemorating the death of Napoléon Bonaparte at the Abbaye Saint-Victor in Marseille on 5 May 2021.
In Montauban, a statue of Napoleon was to be erected in the allée de l'Empereur, as a tribute to his role in the creation of the department.
In Pontivy, a town where Napoleon left an important cultural and architectural legacy, the Tourist Office was working on two bicentennial projects. The first was the construction of a family bike trail along a section of the Napoleonic canal from Nantes to Brest, between Napoleonville (Pontivy's former name) and Rohan, focusing on local history and the links between Napoleon and Europe. The second project was a temporary photographic exhibition on the premises of the Pontivy Tourist Office, to show the similarities in design and buildings between the only two towns created by Napoleon: Pontivy and La Roche-sur-Yon.