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The arrival of Napoleon III at Gênes in 1859, by Théodore Gudin, and details
Apart from Napoleon’s canot, another striking feature in the first room at the Paris Musée de la Marine is this painting of the arrival of Napoleon III at Gênes in 1859, by Théodore Gudin.
Many of the paintings of this era at the Musée seem to have been created to be read like a book – they are crammed with details each requiring the viewer’s attention. Almost every where I pointed my camera I found painterly details that seemed to be worth recording.
I’ll be putting more of these photos from our brief Paris holiday trip up over the next few days and weeks. Often they show interesting boat details, though in this case the interest lies in the individual characters and scenes. For example, the look on that poor bride’s face as Napoleon III steals the limelight on her wedding day is a picture, so to speak. And what about the boy climbing the rudder, and those characters in the water?
I’m not particularly proud to admit that as an Englishman I know little of French history, but I had heard of Napeoleon III – in fact, I lived for a while in Chislehurst, where he spent his final years in exile.
Just yards from my flat were two landmarks associated with him, the Imperial Arms pub named in his memory and a quiet lane called Susan Wood, where legend has it that he installed a mistress of the same name. I later became friendly with a family who lived in the house she was said to have lived in, and often looked at what is said to be a stained-glass portrait of the lady set into their 19th century kitchen door. I should perhaps explain that the family’s three sons are all music and sailing enthusiasts, so we had and still have a lot in common!
To read more about Napoleon III, check his Wikipedia entry. There’s no mention of Susan Wood, sadly.
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