An Unknown Fragonard

A newly discovered portrait by Fragonard depicting a "Young Girl in a Hat",  was sold by Boisgirard-Antonini on 21st December.  It fetched €3.25m, against an estimate of   €400,000 - 600,000.

The Paris catacombs

 The Sky History [History Channel] website has posted a new article (27th November) on the Paris catacombs with links to various English-language resources. 

More Adam Zamoyski ....

The Catholic Herald for 14th December publishes an interview with historian Adam Zamoyski. 

Yet another chair...

 What is the obsession with 18th-century chairs??  A Louis XVI period gilded wood chair, stamped by Georges Jacob, from Marie Antoinette’s boudoir in Versailles has just achieved a new record price at auction of S$2.8 million [2.6 million]. Hope the new owner sits on its cautiously....

Philippe Borde on David (new book)

 Philippe Bordes's latest book, Jacques Louis David, la traite négrière et l'esclavage. Son séjour à Nantes, mars-avril 1790  is published on December 7th ( in the"Passerelles" collection, Éditions de la MSH), with full text is available on Open Edition Books.

McPhee on Ridley Scott

Among the dozens of responses to the Ridley Scott Napoleon, here is a noteworthy one from Peter McPhee,  published in The Conversation on 5th December. 

French historians react to Ridley Scott

According to an article published in Variety on 6th December, French pundits aren't that impressed with Ridley Scott's Napoleon...

La Tour pastel on show at the Getty

The J. Paul Getty Museum is currently showcasing Quentin de La Tour's magnificent pastel portrait of Gabriel Bernard de Rieux.  The exhibition Untold Stories of a Monumental Pastel runs at the Getty Center, Los Angeles, from 3rd October 2023 to 20th October 2024.  

Vigée Lebrun self-portrait (auction)

On 31st January Sotheby's New York is to auction  a 1816 self-portrait by Élisabeth Vigée Lebrun, which is anticipated to be going to fetch as much as $1 million.   

Legacy - new podcast series

"In their new podcast series, produced by Goalhanger & Wondery, Afua Hirsch and Peter Frankopan tell the wild stories of some of the most extraordinary men and women ever to have lived – and ask whether they have the reputation they deserve."

Fake chairs in high places (revisited)

After a seven-year investigation, the French antique furniture expert Bill Pallot ("Père Lachaise" ) has finally been indicted for his part in a multi-million euro scam involving the sale of fake Louis XVI chairs to (among other victims) the Palace of Versailles.

Museum of the Archives Nationales (article)

The France Today website publishes an interesting article in its "Carnet de Voyage" series on the museum of the Archives Nationales, its permanent displays and the current exhibition on the Royal family at the Tuileries. 

New book on Liotard

Liotard: A Portrait of Eighteenth-Century Europe by Christopher Baker, the new editor of The Burlington Magazine, is published on 27th November. 

Napoleon hat fetches record price

The latest of Napoleon's hats to be auctioned has broken all the records by selling for €1.9 million.

Self-help for the French nobility

 Who says the French aristocracy was abolished two-hundred years ago?  An illuminating post by Jennifer Walker on the Messy Nessy blog concerns the splendid Association for the Mutual Assistance of the French Nobility, which currently boasts 5,300 members.

Dan Snow Ridley Scott interview (podcast)

Having been told by Ridley Scott to "get a life", Dan Snow has managed to score an interview with the great director for his History Hits podcasts (14th November)

Liotard at the National Gallery

 The National Gallery is mounting an exhibition on the Swiss pastellist Jean-Etienne Liotard's masterpiece "The Lavergne Family Breakfast", which it acquired in 2019.  The exhibition will run from 16th November 2023 – 3rd March 2024.

Revolutionary violence (article)

In a news item from Binghamton University, NY State, Professor Howard G. Brown discusses his research into how images of mass violence shaped identities across French history. 

Love letters - lost and found

 Cambridge historian Renaud Morieux has published a study of over 100 personal letters to French sailors, dating from 1757-58,  which he uncovered at the National Archives in Kew.  The messages were seized by Britain’s Royal Navy during the Seven Years’ War, taken to the Admiralty in London and never opened. 

Academy of Painting - new database

 The DFK  (Deutsches Forum für Kunstgeschichte) in Paris has published a free-to-use online database of the collections of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture.

The Bourbons of India

The Sun newspaper features an article on an unlikely pretender to the French crown, the splendidly named Indian lawyer, Balthazar Napoleon IV de Bourbon.

Regency exhibition - Musée Carnavalet

A new exhibition The Regency in Paris (1715-1723) has opened at the Musée Carnavalet to mark the  300th anniversary of death of the Regent.  It runs from 24th October 2023 to 25th February 2024 and features over 200 works from public and private collections.

Napoleon opinion poll

 According to a new opinion poll, a third of French people still love Napoleon ...Tant pis!

Rothschild auction results

Christie’s announce that their landmark Rothschild Masterpieces auction series, which took place in New York this October has finished in triumphant style, totalling $62,656,516 

A bust by Bouchardon - to sell or not to sell?

 The town council of Invergordon in the Highlands of Scotland has caused controversy by proposing to sell a  portrait bust by Edmé Bouchardon which it acquired for a fiver in the 1930s. 

Our Lady of the Old Silverware

The Catholic news website Aleteia features an article on the plaster Madonna, known as "Our Lady of the Smile", which belonged to St Theresa of Lisieux.  The statue is a replica of an 18th-century original in silver by Edmé Bouchardon which once adorned the church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris.

Condorcet's Life of Voltaire

A post by Gabriel Darriulat  dated 26th October, on the Voltaire Foundation blog, discusses Condorcet's Vie de Voltaire.

Robert Darnton on pre-Revolutionary Paris

Professor Robert Darnton's new book, The Revolutionary Temper: Paris, 1748–1789, is published by Penguin on 7th November.

Voltaire manuscripts at McGill

An important collection of manuscripts relating to Voltaire has been donated to Montreal's McGill University.

In defence of Robespierre

The American left-wing magazine Jacobin publishes (in English) an interview with Antoine Léaument, MP for La France Insoumise,  and an active defender of Robespierre’s legacy. 

Emigré tales from Florida

According to a post on a local history blog, "folklore claims" that the neighbourhood of Moncrief in Jacksonville, Florida is named after a certain French pawnbroker who fled there during the French Revolution, with Marie-Antoinette's diamonds.

Pastels at the Muséee Cognacq-Jay

 A new exhibition dedicated to 18th-century pastels opens at the Musée Cognacq-Jay in Paris.  Pastels, between line and colour runs from 12th October 2023 to 11th February 2024.

The Catholic Church in Revolution

 Dr Ambrogio Caiani of the University of Kent announces the publication on 12th October of his new book,  Losing a Kingdom, Gaining the World, The Catholic Church in the Age of Revolution and Democracy.

Remembering Andrew Brown

 The Association Voltaire à Ferney announces the death on 3rd October of its president Andrew Brown (1946-2023).

A rediscovered Girodet

The Burlington Magazine for October features an article on Girodet's painting, "Coriolanus taking leave of his family" acquired by the National Gallery of Art, Washington in 2019.   The picture, until recently presumed lost, once belonged to Lavoisier.

Azilum - French émigré colony (web post)

The website of the local NY state radio station, WNBF News, features a new post (dated 12th October) on Azilum, the colony founded by French émigrés in Bradford County Pennsylvania.

Tom Paine one-man show

 The Hollywood-based actor Ian Ruskin is currently touring England and Ireland with his one-man show "To Begin the World Over Again: the Life of Thomas Paine’.  He will be in  Paine's birthplace of Thetford, tomorrow (13th October)

Toussaint Louverture - graphic novel

A new graphic novel Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History is published by Verso.

Jewellery exhibition at the Hôtel de Mercy-Argenteau

The École des Arts Joailliers  (School of Jewellery Arts) presents a free exhibition of historic stage jewellery from the collection of the Comédie Française.

Tarrare the Glutton (novel)

 A.K. Blakemore's new novel The Glutton, which is just published, is a fictional account of the life of Tarrare, the Glutton of Lyon, who was famous in the late 18th century for his huge and indiscriminating appetite. 

Liberty gets a facelift

 Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People has been temporarily removed from display in the Louvre as part of an ongoing programme of conservation.  The painting is expected to be back on display in Spring 2024.

Louis XVI - an unwanted monument

A Restoration statue of Louis XVI now in Louisville, Kentucky, faces an uncertain fate. The statue, which came originally from Montpellier, stood outside Louisville's Metro Hall from 1967 until 2020, when it had to be taken down after damage during the George Floyd protests.

Memorial to the Swiss Guards

The news agency website CitizenSide.com features an article on Lucerne's lion monument, designed by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, which commemorates the Swiss Guards killed on 10th August 1792.

A gift from King Charles

During his state visit to France this week, Charles presented President Macron with a copy of the Voltaire Foundation's edition of the Lettres sur les Anglais (with the rest of the 205 volumes of Complete works to follow!).

Plans at Puy du Fou

 An article in the Guardian article discusses the  Puy du Fou theme park, its plans for expansion and the criticisms  levelled against it by left-wing historians, particularly in the wake of the film Vaincre ou Mourir. (See previous post, 30th Jan)

New Book on Bagatelle

Bagatelle: A Princely Residence in Paris by Nicolas Cattelain, is published in English on 21st September.  

The Girl with the Green Ribbon

 Mental Floss publishes a suitably off-the-wall post by Ellen Gutoskey, which takes its as its starting point the children's story "The Green Ribbon" by Alvin Schwartz published in 1984.

Juan Bautista Azopardo - biography

The Maltese historian Mark Camilleri has published a new biography of the remarkable  Juan Bautista Azopardo - Revolutionary, corsair and creator of the Argentinian navy.

Michel Biard on the last Montagnards

  A new book by Michel Biard, entitled Les Derniers Jours de la Montagne (1794-1795), is published by on 13th September. 

Revolutionary furniture at Vizille

As part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, the Museum of the French Revolution in Vizille is hosting an exhibition, "French Revolution Style: Furniture, Works of Art, and Wallpapers" (30th June 2023 — 11th March 2024).

The resting place of Marshal Ney?

 French researchers for the French television series Histoire au Scalpel have finally debunked the (admittedly unlikely) theory that Marshal Ney  miraculously escaped execution and can be identified with Peter Stuart Ney, a schoolteacher from Rowan County, North Carolina, who died in 1846.

Breguet watches at the Science Museum

 A new temporary exhibition opens at the Science Museum in Kensington to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of the great French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet.

Peter Mcphee on the Statue of Liberty

Australia's ABC Radio series Night Life has already featured Peter McPhee talking about the Eiffel Tower.  Now here he is on the Statue of Liberty (Broadcast on Sunday 30th July)

Fantasies at Lunéville

There is still a final chance to see the CMN's touring exhibition Fantaisies pour un palais which runs until 30th September. at the Hôtel Abbatial in Lunéville.

Interview with Michael Rapport

 The E-International Relations website publishes an interview with Michael Rapport, Reader in Modern European History at the University of Glasgow, and specialist in French Revolutionary studies.

Mary Sheriff publications

Enfilade informs us that the collected articles of the American historian of 18th-century French art,  Mary Sheriff (1950-2016), have been made available in full text on Academia.

Adam Zamoyski on Napoleon (podcast)

To mark the upcoming Ridley Scott epic, Dan Snow has reissued the "History Hit" podcast in which he discusses the early life of Napoleon with  Adam Zamoyski, author of Napoleon: a life (2018).

Movies for Bastille Day

To mark Bastille Day, here is a rundown of recommended feature films on the French Revolution.  A pretty meagre collection, with the honourable exception of "Danton"....

Ridley Scott's Napoleon

 We now have a trailer, an official poster and several commentaries for the Ridley Scott/Joachim Phoenix Napoleon - release date 22nd November.

A monastic anniversary

On this day, 11th July, in 1833, monastic life was canonically restored to France with the reestablishment of the Benedictine community at Solesmes Abbey in the department of Sarthe.  

Axel von Fersen miniature (auction)

Sold at auction last week in Stockholm: Peter Adolf Hall's famous miniature of Axel von Fersen, painted in Paris when he returned from the American War of Independence.

Marie-Antoinette's private apartments

Marie-Antoinette's private apartments at Versailles have been reopened to the public as part of the palace's 400th anniversary celebrations.

Marseillaise manuscript

This copy of the Marseillaise from the Revolutionary era was posted on Facebook by Chelli Autographes on 20th June, presumably prior to be offered for sale:

New digital Enlightenment project

 The Voltaire Foundation launches its new  ERC-funded project ModERN: Modelling Enlightenment. Reassembling Networks of Modernity through data-driven research, jointly hosted with the Sorbonne. Among other topics, the project will focus onVoltaire’s complex relationship to the French press.

On display - Voltaire's quill!

The Prince Czartoryski Museum in Kraków has opened its newly restored Klasztorek building with an exhibition of 1,800 items from its collection, among them a quill pen belonging  to Voltaire!

Volcanic activity and the French Revolution

The Times newspaper for 9th June publishes an article on the Icelandic earthquake which "caused the French Revolution".

Rothschild collection - upcoming auction

Another  mega-sale ....It has been announced that "$20 Million Worth of Treasures" from the Rothschild family's private collection, is to be auctioned by Christie's in New York this October.  

Misanthropy (book)

The book Misanthropy in the Age of Reason by Joseph Harris is an interesting new take on  Enlightenment culture, reviewed this week in the London Review of Books.

John Hardman on Barnave

John Hardman's new biography,  Antoine Barnave: The Revolutionary who Lost his Head for Marie Antoinette was published on 23rd May.

The Jacques Garcia sale

 The long-anticipated sale of 75 pieces from Jacques Garcia's Château du Champ-de-Bataille took place on 23rd May.  The total realised, some €8 million euros, was less than estimated, though some of the lots made record prices.

Napoleon is defeated by rabbits...

The story of Napoleon and a rabbit hunt which went comically wrong, has featured on several internet sites in the last few days, starting (I think) with Ripley's Believe It or Not! on 17th May. It is an anecdote worth the retelling...

Guillotine "the Movie"

Also making its debut at Cannes this week - Guillotine, created by Los Angeles based filmmaker Izad-Mehr and  produced by the Irish company Mind the Gap.

Bon anniversaire, Max!

On Saturday 6th May, celebrations were held at the Maison Robespierre to mark the 265th anniversary of Robespierre's birth. The Mayor of Arras, Frédéric Leturque  was present to outline the future plans for a museum / interpretative centre on the site. 

Jeanne du Barry opens at Cannes

Jeanne du Barry, directed by Maïwenn, debuts at the Cannes  Festival.  The film stars  Maïwenn  as Madame du Barry and Johnny Depp as Louis XV.

New Trudon candles

The Parisian firm Trudon, the world's oldest candlemaker still in operation, celebrates its 380th anniversary this year with a historically-themed "Tuileries" collection conceived in homage to Marie-Antoinette.  

The Dutch Museum of Freemasonry

 The Dutch Museum of Freemasonry announces a conference at The Hague on 25th May 2023, on aspects of its collections.  You may not be able to attend, but here is a good opportunity to discover a little about this intriguing small museum.

The Beast of Gévaudan

A restored director's cut of Christophe Gans' 2001 fantasy film Brotherhood of the Wolf (Le pacte des loups) is released on Blue-ray and DVD from May 15th and on AppleTV+.  

Peter McPhee on the Eiffel Tower

A bit too modern really - but here is a chance to hear Peter McPhee talk about the Eiffel Tower.  Broadcast on Sunday 7th May in Australia's ABC Radio series Night Life.

Conspiracy theories (book)

The Los Angeles Review of Books publishes an essay by Nicole Bauer, author of Tracing the shadow of secrecy and government transparency in eighteenth-century France, which was published last November.

Macron remembers Toussaint Louverture

Last Thursday (27th April) President Macron paid tribute to Toussaint Louverture on the 175th anniversary of France's abolition of slavery.  He laid a wreath in the cell in  Château de Joux (in the Jura Mountains) where Toussaint died in prison. 

Duchess of Angoulême at the Chapelle expiatoire

An exhibition on the Duke and Duchess of Angoulême  runs at the Chapelle expiatoire from 22nd April to 17th September.

"Chevalier" - first reactions

The film Chevalier, which stars Kelvin Harrison as the Black musician Chevalier Saint-Georges, went on general release in the United States and Canada. on 21st April.  The release date for the UK is 9th June.

Gouverneur Morris papers

 The American Philosophical Society blog publishes an article on the Gouverneur Morris papers by their editor Melanie Randolph Miller (17th April).

Louis-Sébastien Mercier (upcoming book)

Bucknell University Press announces Michael J. Mulryan's upcoming book, Louis Sébastien Mercier: Revolution and reform in eighteenth-century Paris. Expected publication September 15, 2023.

The Robespierre Legend (book)

A newly published book by Marion Pouffary,  Robespierre, monstre ou héros? adds to the growing literature on the posthumous reputation of Robespierre.  

Napoleon movies....

 Ridley Scott's forthcoming blockbuster Napoleon has been given an official release date in November 2023.  At the cinema and on Apple TV.

Nicolas Chamfort (article)

 The latest edition of Philosophy Now includes a summary biography of the aphorist Nicolas Chamfort by  the late Martin Jenkins.

The Royal family at the Tuileries (Exhibition)

An exhibition on Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette at the Tuileries during the Revolution runs at the National Archives in Paris from 29th March to 6th November.

Voltaire and Mme Denis

 The Voltaire Foundation blog features an essay by Nicolas Cronk on the relationship between Voltaire and Mme Denis.

PBS / BBC M.-A. biopic...again

According to a new article on the website Biography.com "Marie Antoinette Series Portrays the Queen as a Feminist Icon, But Some Historians Disagree" -  something of an understatement, it seems!  

More on the Robespierre letter

A petition has been published in Le Monde by the historian Loris Chavanette to save for the nation the manuscript letter from Robespierre to Danton auctioned on 12th March.

Fire in Bordeaux

  The splendid 18th-century Hôtel de Ville in Bordeaux was set alight last night as part of protests against pension reforms. Fire ravaged the main door of the building and engulfed the front hall.

Remembering Dale Van Kley

 The death on 14th March has been announced of Dale Van Kley, Emeritus Professor of history at Ohio State University.  We lose a learned expert on the 18th-century French church - and an insightful and compassionate historian. 

Ireland's "Year of the French"

On March 7th the French Embassy in Ireland planted a Liberty Oak in the Gardens of the French residence in celebration of Ireland's "Year of the French".

Forgotten women artists?

The latest London Review of Books  has a review of A Revolution on canvas: the rise of women artists in Britain and France, 1760-1830, by Paris Spies-Gans (originally published in June 2022)

Iconic Robespierre letter to be auctioned

The Versailles auction house Osenat announces an upcoming sale, "Royalty in Versailles", to take place on 12th March.  Among many noteworthy lots, is the original manuscript of Robespierre's famous letter of 5th February 1793 to Danton.

The Choiseul Snuffbox

The Louvre has acquired the famous "Choiseul snuffbox" from the Rothschild family for the unprecedented sum of €3.9 M,  €1,200,000 of which has been raised by a major public appeal.

Château d’Ermenonville - for sale

Rousseau's last refuge, now run as a hotel and conference centre - is currently on the market   All yours, should you happen to have €12 million to spare!

Madame du Châtelet (article)

The latest edition of Philosophy Now includes a summary biography of  Madame du Châtelet by Andrea Reichenberger, who has also recently contributed a more detailed article to the  Digital Encyclopedia of European History.

The Marquis de Sade's scroll (book)

A well-received new book by the American writer Joel Warner, The Curse of the Marquis de Sade, traces the colourful history of the famous scroll which contains the manuscript of 120 Days of Sodom. 

Living with Kings - a Versailles project

An article in today's Times newspaper showcases the Immersailles Project which maps residents of the Palace of Versailles at three key dates in the 18th century.

Jacques Garcia - upcoming sale

Sotheby's in Paris gives advance notice of what promises to be one of the sales of the year...On 16th May, the designer and collector Jacques Garcia offers for auction 75 works of art, many of which once belonged to royalty and nobility...

Letters of Marie-Antoinette - digitisation

The Centre de Recherche at Versailles has launched a new project to find, digitise and publish the complete correspondence of Marie-Antoinette.

New Tom Paine museum in Thetford

The Tom Paine hotel in Thetford unveils ambitious plans for a new £70,000 museum dedicated to the town's most famous son. 

Vaincre et mourir - the dossier

 The film Vaincre et mourir is accompanied by "dossier pédagogique" intended as a guide for teachers. Jean-Clément Martin offers his criticisms in a blog post of 23/01.

Charette movie - thumbs down!

Vaincre ou Mourir!, the film from Puy de Fou on the life of Charette,  is now on general release in France. Predictably it has been caned for its Right-wing bias.  Equally predictably,  "most cinema critics agree that the movie is … bad."  Shame!

A new drawing of Robespierre

 Among the most noteworthy lots items from the collection of  Doctor André Bernheim, auctioned by Giquello et associés on 21st January,  is this remarkable drawing of Robespierre, signed by the pupil of David, Claude Gautherot (Paris, 1769-1825).

Louis XVI remembered

This Sunday the 230th anniversary of the execution of Louis XVI  was commemorated by Royalists in France.  The Duke of Anjou, "Louis XX", put in a personal appearance for Mass at the Chapelle Expiatoire. 

Last statues of Louis XVI

 The Gal Times [published in Abkhazia] marks the anniversary of the execution of Louis XVI with an article on  surviving statues of the King.  Today, only two statues remain in public spaces: in Nantes and in Loroux-Bottereau.

French drawings at the Clark

The exhibition Promenades on Paper: Eighteenth-Century French Drawings from the Bibliothèque nationale de France runs at the Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts until 12th March. 

Sale of Revolutionary items

A major sale of Revolutionary items from the collection of Doctor André Bernheim (1877-1961) is to be held by the auction house Giquello at the Hôtel Drouot on 21st January.

Long live French fries!

Here is a nice accessible article in English on French resistance to the cultivation of potatoes and on  Antoine-Augustin Parmentier's tireless campaign on behalf of the spud.  Editorial on the Slurrp website, 16.01.2023.