About this item
A monumental cultural history of Napoleon Bonaparte's fascination with antiquity and how it shaped Paris' artistic landscape.Napoleon is one of history's most fascinating figures. But his complex relationship with Rome -- both with antiquity and his contemporary conflicts with the Pope and Holy See -- have undergone little examination.In The Caesar of Paris, Susan Jaques reveals how Napoleon's dueling fascination and rivalry informed his effort to turn Paris into "the new Rome" -- Europe's cultural capital -- through architectural and artistic commissions around the city. His initiatives and his aggressive pursuit of antiquities and classical treasures from Italy gave Paris much of the classical beauty we know and adore today.Napoleon had a tradition of appropriating from past military greats to legitimize his regime -- Alexander the Great during his invasion of Egypt, Charlemagne during his coronation as emperor, even Frederick the Great when he occupied Berlin.
About the Author
For her debut book, A Love for the Beautiful: Discovering America's Hidden Art Museums, art and travel writer Susan Jaques crisscrossed the country in search of extraordinary, lesser-known museums. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA. Susan lives in Los Angeles where she's a gallery docent at the J. Paul Getty Museum.
