Boston museum will present Symbols of Power: Napoleon and the Art of the Empire Style, 1800–1815, on view from October 21, 2007 to January 27, 2008, at Gund Gallery.
The ornate splendor of the Napoleonic reign, which looked to symbols of ancient Rome and Greece for a new aesthetic, will be on view in all its glory and majesty when the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), presents Symbols of Power.
This sweeping exhibition features nearly 200 objects, including paintings, sculpture, clothing, jewelry, and decorative arts, which incorporate the iconography of the Empire style in virtually every visual medium, from the opulence of a throne from which Napoleon ruled, to the delicacy of the ceramic ice cream urns decorated with Empress Josephine’s favored botanical motifs. Many of these works have never before been seen outside of France.
The exhibition offers an examination of Napoleon’s vision for a new French style, which used classical emblems of power—the Roman eagle, the laurel wreath, and Mars, Roman god of war—to reinforce France’s military prowess and renewed political strength. -- www.mfa.org
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