Bonaparte, First Consul
Encyclopedia
Bonaparte, First Consul (Bonaparte, Premier Consul) was an 1804 portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte
as First Consul
by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. The painting is now in the collection of the Curtius Museum
in Liège
.
for two days on his triumphal march across the nine annexed départements. On the terrace of a hôtel particulier
on the Mont-Saint-Martin, Bonaparte contemplated the city, criticising the église Saint-Jean-en-l’Isle, ordering a bell tower (which it still lacked) for the new cathédrale Saint-Paul and approved the siting of the fort de la Chartreuse. A large crowd (the city's population having tripled during the two days of the visit) gathered to acclaim Bonaparte and some even knelt in his path.
The city's head of state met Bonaparte in the Amercœur quarter, which had been devastated by Austrian bombardment on leaving the city in 1794 after the battle of Sprimont
. Deeply impressed by the inhabitants' misery, Bonaparte decreed 300,000 francs to the prefect of Ourthe
, baron Micoud d'Umons, for the suburb's reconstruction. The same evening, Bonaparte told the Second Consul "I am extremely content at the spirit of the inhabitants of Liège. To show his satisfaction, Bonaparte announced his intention to offer the city of Liège a portrait of him by Ingres, which would be sent to them a year later.
aged 23, but he was unable to get Bonaparte to sit for it and had to base the pose on a portrait of him from 1802 by Jean-Antoine Gros. Ingres' painting shows its subject aged 34 with his right hand about to sign an act titled "Faubourg d’Amercœur rebâti" (Amercœur suburb rebuilt). This decree refers to one signed by Napoleon in 1803 to the prefecture of the Ourthe département to restore this suburb and is an attempt to demonstrate to the newly-annexed city the benefits of being part of France and to symbolically take possession of the city.
Bonaparte is shown not as a long-haired revolutionary or in the blue uniform he wears in Gros's Bonaparte au pont d'Arcole, but in the red uniform of a consul of the republic, with short hair. Instead of resting his hand on his sword in a martial pose, he assumes a civilian one, placing it inside his jacket. The curtain is open in the background showing St. Lambert's Cathedral, Liège
as complete, when in fact it was being demolished at this time during the Liège Revolution. The excesses of the French Revolution
and of the counter-revolutionaries were put into perspective by the painting, in a context of detente and reconciliation between France and the Catholic Church. Official relations between France and the papacy had been poor since civil constitution of the clergy
in 1790, but the painting's reconstruction of the then-ruined cathedral symbolised the resumption of good relations between them and the "protection" the First French Republic granted to the Catholic church in the concordat of 1801
.
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
as First Consul
French Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. The painting is now in the collection of the Curtius Museum
Curtius Museum
The Curtius Museum is a museum of archaeology and decorative arts, located on the bank of the Meuse River in Liège, classified as a Major Heritage of Wallonia...
in Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
.
Background
On 1 August 1803 Bonaparte stopped in LiègeLiège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
for two days on his triumphal march across the nine annexed départements. On the terrace of a hôtel particulier
Hôtel particulier
In French contexts an hôtel particulier is an urban "private house" of a grand sort. Whereas an ordinary maison was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a street, an hôtel particulier was often free-standing, and by the 18th century it...
on the Mont-Saint-Martin, Bonaparte contemplated the city, criticising the église Saint-Jean-en-l’Isle, ordering a bell tower (which it still lacked) for the new cathédrale Saint-Paul and approved the siting of the fort de la Chartreuse. A large crowd (the city's population having tripled during the two days of the visit) gathered to acclaim Bonaparte and some even knelt in his path.
The city's head of state met Bonaparte in the Amercœur quarter, which had been devastated by Austrian bombardment on leaving the city in 1794 after the battle of Sprimont
Battle of Sprimont
The battle of Sprimont, battle of Esneux or battle of the Ourthe was a battle between French Republican and Austrian troops on the plateau between the valleys of the Vesdre, the Ourthe and the Amblève, 20 km to the south of Liège...
. Deeply impressed by the inhabitants' misery, Bonaparte decreed 300,000 francs to the prefect of Ourthe
Ourthe (département)
Ourthe is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present day Belgium and Germany, at the time written as Ourte by French officials. It was named after the river Ourthe...
, baron Micoud d'Umons, for the suburb's reconstruction. The same evening, Bonaparte told the Second Consul "I am extremely content at the spirit of the inhabitants of Liège. To show his satisfaction, Bonaparte announced his intention to offer the city of Liège a portrait of him by Ingres, which would be sent to them a year later.
Interpretation
Ingres received the commission for the painting from the city of LiègeLiège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
aged 23, but he was unable to get Bonaparte to sit for it and had to base the pose on a portrait of him from 1802 by Jean-Antoine Gros. Ingres' painting shows its subject aged 34 with his right hand about to sign an act titled "Faubourg d’Amercœur rebâti" (Amercœur suburb rebuilt). This decree refers to one signed by Napoleon in 1803 to the prefecture of the Ourthe département to restore this suburb and is an attempt to demonstrate to the newly-annexed city the benefits of being part of France and to symbolically take possession of the city.
Bonaparte is shown not as a long-haired revolutionary or in the blue uniform he wears in Gros's Bonaparte au pont d'Arcole, but in the red uniform of a consul of the republic, with short hair. Instead of resting his hand on his sword in a martial pose, he assumes a civilian one, placing it inside his jacket. The curtain is open in the background showing St. Lambert's Cathedral, Liège
St. Lambert's Cathedral, Liège
St. Lambert's Cathedral, Liège was the cathedral of Liège, Belgium, until 1794, when its destruction began...
as complete, when in fact it was being demolished at this time during the Liège Revolution. The excesses of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and of the counter-revolutionaries were put into perspective by the painting, in a context of detente and reconciliation between France and the Catholic Church. Official relations between France and the papacy had been poor since civil constitution of the clergy
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a law passed on 12 July 1790 during the French Revolution, that subordinated the Roman Catholic Church in France to the French government....
in 1790, but the painting's reconstruction of the then-ruined cathedral symbolised the resumption of good relations between them and the "protection" the First French Republic granted to the Catholic church in the concordat of 1801
Concordat of 1801
The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801. It solidified the Roman Catholic Church as the majority church of France and brought back most of its civil status....
.