Malmaison

The last posts from Paris were about places that needed no introduction. I’m not so sure about Malmaison though. It was considered a palace, but judging by its size, it is similar to a small country home by British standards (and French if we think of Versailles and Louvre). Malmaison was the private residence of Napoleon and his first wife Joséphine from 1799. At that point it was about half an hour from Paris and today, funnily, it is still about half an hour by public transport from Paris’ centre.

I wanted to see Malmaison because I like Joséphine a lot and I was curious about this place. The building was built in the 17th century and Joséphine bought it for herself in 1799, while Napoleon, very conveniently, was in campaign in Egypt. After it was slightly altered and modernised, from 1800 it was lived in by Napoleon and Joséphine. This home hosted working meetings, balls, and receptions. Joséphine continued to live at Malmaison after the divorce in 1809 and until her death on 29 May 1814. It was sold a few times, until it became a Napoleonic museum opened in 1905. I think it’s rather sad that he is more important than her in this place, even today. I made the decision to show as little as possible of Napoleon and as much as possible about her, but keep in mind that the ratio between the artefacts on display is not the one you will see in this post.

The museum, unhelpfully, is closed at lunchtime, so keep that in mind when you visit. We were rushed from the last 2 rooms, as they were closing. The place is small and they have groups of children, which makes the visit a bit slower because one has to wait to take a picture or to read a display board.

These are the highlights from my visit.

The Billiard Room is near the entrance and this is how it was in Joséphine’s time. She loved playing a couple of billiard games after dinner and she was very good at it.

The Gilded Room was modified after the divorce, making it more pleasant. Many of the original features were lost, since the early 1800s.

The Music Room that we see today was decorated in only 10 days in 1800.

The harp belonged to Joséphine.

This picture is taken at the entrance of the house which is on the left of this picture. From this hallway there are rooms in the front (as you look at the picture) and in the back.

A bust of Napoleon, one of the many artworks with him, including a considerable amount of paintings.

This is called the Emperor’s Drawing-Room. In 1969 the decision was taken to unite 2 smaller rooms into one. I think that was a mistake, as it completely altered how it would have looked when Joséphine and Napoleon were living there.

I love this portrait of Joséphine.

This exotic looking room is Emperor’s Bedchamber, which was, as the previous room, changed by uniting 2 smaller rooms, the bedroom and the room where the valet would have stayed. The decor is how it would have looked in 2014.

This little display was a delight to see. It contains a picture of Joséphine and Napoleon, as newly-weds. The ring belonged to Joséphine and has the JNB engraved [Joséphine Napoleon Bonaparte]. On it is also engraved “amour sincère”, dating from 1796.
The last item is a reproduction of their wedding certificate from 9 March 1796. The original was burned in one of the French revolutions, more precisely the 1871 one.

This portrait is stunning. Dates from 1808-1810, which is interesting because Napoleon crowned himself emperor in 1804 and they divorced in 1809, so he could marry royalty and have an heir. Joséphine did not want to divorce and did her best to prevent it from happening, without success.

A painting from 1806. She had two children from her first marriage, but none with Napoleon. In this painting she is surrounded by orphans and single mothers. This painting was bought by Napoleon in 1807.

The Frieze Room, which is once again made by joining 2 rooms. The swan chairs are stunning.

The Empress’ Bedchamber was changed in 1812 by the addition of a frieze, which was changed again by Napoleon III. Two more changes were made in 1905 and 1967.

This is the Empress Joséphine’s ordinary bedchamber, where she would spend her time. It is a light and plain room when compared to the previous one. The small bed, in a recess, is very telling of how she needed to feel comfortable.

This part of the museum is dedicated entirely to Napoleon and his imprisonment on St. Helena. I picked only one item to highlight, although there were quite a few interesting items. The item, is, as you can see below, the funeral mask of Napoleon.

While the museum is closed for lunch, visitors can walk through the gardens.

An orange tree filled with oranges, how lovely is that. The exterior of the house is beautiful, so it is worth walking around it to see all those gorgeous marble statues. The exterior was completed in 1801.

The last picture is of a very special tree. This is a cedar from Lebanon which was planted by Joséphine and Napoleon in 1800, the year of his victory in Marengo. It’s so impressive that the tree is still there, 224 years old.

Were you aware of Malmaison and its history? Is it somewhere you might want to visit?