Napoleon's Looting of Art

Napoleon has carried the brunt of most of the blame for the looting of art from Italy and other European countries, but not all of it lies on his shoulders. 

The looting of art from country to country isn’t a new idea. It all started with the Romans and the Greeks and continues to this day. There are a few more international rules in place to stop this, but not everyone follows them. In the 12th century, Doge Enrico Dandolo looted treasures and the horses later known as the horses of Saint Mark’s while in Constantinople. Something Napoleon would steal as well. 

Between the Revolution and the fall of Napoleon in 1814, the looting of art from the Vatican, Venice, Tuscany, and other corners of Europe was used to enrich the national museum. Authorized by treaties put in place at the same time, making the seizure legal.

After the fall of the First Empire, a large majority of art was returned to its owners, but not everything. 

What remains, and why is it still here in France? Listen to the episode to get all the details now. 

Transcript

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Bonjour, bonjour, and welcome again to Paris and Blue Blanc Rouge with Claudine Hemingway. That is me. It is already episode 28 of the podcast that I started back in January. Had the past podcast that we had done for over five years. But this one is just even more and more information and history that you probably never knew or never knew you would want to know about Paris. And I am literally making lists every single day. I went into the Carnival A Museum last week, the day after I released that one about the death of Mirah. And so I wanted to go in there again and see some of the things I had talked about. And just walking through there, I think I made a list of like 12 other things that I definitely are things that I love that I want to do even more research on and share with you. So again, if anybody ever has any ideas or things that you want to know more about, send me a message and you could do that through my website, ClaudiaHemingway.com, and let me know because I I mean I still have a list that I started like seven years ago, six years ago. And there's still people on there that I've never gotten to. But there's some of them that are just like just such big ones that I want to do that I just need time. So this week, the story I want to share with you is one that kind of went over a long period of time. It's also a subject that really doesn't have a big conclusion in the way of is this or was this right or wrong? How is it looked at? Just everything from all the way around it. And it is specifically the subject of the looting of art, but we're talking about under the period of Napoleon and also right before that. So starting pretty much during the revolution in the 18th century, going through Napoleon and what that did, and also the effects of that on the Louvre. Now there's a few things that I have researched over time that I've started to research, and then I've just found something out like the Simon de Beauvoir, when I thought I'd do an episode about her, and then I looked into it and didn't take very long to find out some really, really horrible things about her, like Epstein file level things about her. And I was like, nope, I'm I can't. I just can't even do this. And she and the fact that she's still revered as this like amazing person just literally makes me sick. But this one was one that when it comes to the Louvre, and I love the Louvre pretty much more than anything. And as I was researching this, I was like, oh, I don't want to know these things. I don't think I want to know this. But I'll explain it to you and also the context of it and how it's not that it's like, well, everybody's doing it's okay. It's not that, it's not that way. But it is, you also have to think of the period of time and what was going on and how these things were handled. And then eventually later, that was changed. So people can't do this, but it doesn't stop them. But they can't be doing this. So we will jump right in on it. And so this was Napoleon had carried out the brunt of this blame for the looting of art from Italy and other European countries, but not all of it lies on his shoulders. The looting of art from country to country isn't a new idea. It all started with the Romans and the Greeks and continues to this day. There are a few more international rules in place to stop this, but not everyone follows them, of course. In the 12th century, the Doge Enrico Dandola looted treasures and the horses later known as the horses of St. Mark's while in Constantinople, something Napoleon would steal as well. Henry VIII and the English, well, they take the cake. And still do to this day, there's a huge controversy around it. Many would take things from the very places they invaded to fund their crusades against their enemies. Then there's World War II and Hitler. We won't go into that today, but put it this way: Hitler was a big fan of Napoleon. Napoleon was born on August 15, 1769, on the island of Corsica. Had he been born a year earlier, he would have been Italian, but on May 15, 1768, under the Treaty of Versailles, Corsica became part of France. His rise to greatness would come from his father cutting a few corners, allowing him to enter the prestigious military schools in Brienne and eventually Paris. Quickly rising through the ranks, he got the attention of the leaders of the revolution and the directory. Paul Barat, one of the five members of the directory, noticed the young brass general and realized he could use him to his own advantage. Within days, Napoleon's name was being spoken in every corner of Paris. No longer was he being made fun of or bullied in class. Now he was given anything he wanted. The young hotshot General Napoleon was given his first major appointment, leading an army of more than forty eight thousand soldiers into northern Italy. The first Italian campaign under Napoleon was one of his most defining of his life. From March twenty fourth, seventeen ninety six to April 1797, General Napoleon forged through Italy, defeating the armies of Austria and Sardinia and forcing the Pope to his knees. A practice Napoleon grew quite fond of. Then there was all the looting. But before we talk about Napoleon, we need to go back a few years. On August 10, 1793, the Musee Central des Arts de la Republique, you know this as the Musee de Louvre, opened in the midst of the revolution, and less than a month after the death of Mara, if you missed that episode last week, listen to it after this one. The museum's foundation would be the King's Royal Collection, which began under Francois Primier and was greatly expanded by Louis XIV. The paintings of Italian artists made up a bulk of the collection, including those of Leonardo da Vinci, who moved to France at the request of Francois Primier and brought with him many of his unfinished works. A real Italian Renaissance fan, Francois Primier, frequently visited Italy, often returning with more paintings that filled his palaces, including Fontainebleau. In the 16th century, Henry IV became so enamored with art that he moved many of the artisans into the Palais de Louvre itself to work on pieces at his request. As for Louis XIV, the Sun King, who loved performing and building massive chateaus, when it came to art, he just purchased what he was told to. German-born collector Everhard Jabac held a large number of paintings and drawings of Italian and Northern artists and sold hundreds of pieces to Louis XIV in 1661 and 1671. He also advised him on art that was for sale in England and other cities he should acquire. In the 74 years of reign under Louis XIV, only a fraction of less than five years were focused on art, but one might never know that when the entire books are filled with the listings of paintings, sculpture, obje d'art, and drawings he acquired. Jabak's name is all over the plaques in the Louvre, and I wonder for years just who this guy was. During the Revolution, once the museum opened, collections from those who fled France in fear of the guillotine and precious items taken from churches would also fill the Grand Gallery. But the leaders had loftier goals to obtain the greatest art in Europe. On June 26, 1794, the French army defeated the first coalition made up of the Holy Roman Empire, including Austria and Sardinia, and England. At Fleurs in what was then Austria, drunk with power, they were ordered to take art, treasures, and military trophies. One of the most coveted items was Rubin's descent from the cross, painted in 1611. It was stolen from the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Antwerp. On September 20, 1794, the descent of the cross among 150 paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck, and Rembrandt, and other prominent artists arrived in Paris and was placed in the museum. The arrival was declared a triumph, stating that the arrival in the homeland of the arts and genius in the homeland of liberty and sacred equality. Although created by foreign artists, their absence from France was seen as a travesty. They wouldn't stop there. The collecting continued into Holland, Antwerp, Bruges, Axle Chapelle, Liege, Bonne, Coblenz, and Cologne, all orchestrated by the Directory to obtain the greatest works in Europe. In Ghent, they grabbed the famed altarpiece by Van Eyck, the exact one that would be stolen again during World War II and five other times. They began to send art experts into the battle zones that would know what to grab, a bit of a reversed monuments men scenario, taking rather than saving. The Committee of Public Safety gathered these experts from every corner and added additional specialists as needed. The botanist Andre Toin and geologist Barthelemy Faule de Saint Faux would both enrich the National History Museum with their finds. The architect Charles de Vali also worked on the Eglise Saint Ciece, including the pulpit, and one of the many who updated the Chapel of the Virgin, knew what to take, including the columns of Charlemagne's final resting place. Many opposed his practice, but their concerns were ignored. Entire collections were taken, belonging to the fleeing leaders like Frederick, the Prince of Orange in Holland, which consisted of 194 paintings by artists of the Northern School, and it went on and on and on. The directory was off and running, and now with Napoleon in their pocket, they couldn't be stopped. Although when Napoleon stepped in, he did it somewhat legally, well as legal as you could get. With each theft he left behind treaties he worked out with the city leaders that had been backed into a corner, which they would sign off on, and at times hand over art, gold and silver, weapons, and quite often horses for their soldiers and even food. The directory ordered Napoleon to take everything he could. In a letter in May 1796, he was told to leave nothing in Italy, which our political situation will permit you to carry away, and which may be useful to us. Growing up, Napoleon was more focused on maps and history than he was on art, but he quickly understood what art meant and more importantly, what having it could do. At the end of May, Napoleon wrote a letter to Guillaume Fepole and asked for a list of pictures, statues, cabinets, and curiosities in Milan, Parma, Pincenza, and Bologna. In another letter, less than a week later, Napoleon asked for a list of three or four known artists to choose what is fitting to take to send to Paris. The directory requests didn't end with art. They extended into manuscripts, antiquities, plants, and animals. There were many who opposed systematic looting, including the first director of the Louvre, Dominique Vivanton, who would later change his tune, taking everything he could get his hands on. The directory took it up a notch and on May 11, 1796, decreed an official commission led by Gaspard Monge, a mathematician and scientist who was more interested in amassing manuscripts than art. Arriving in Italy as early as June 1796, he brought botanists and scientists, as well as artists Jean Simon Bertellamy and Jean Guillaume Moet, and future Napoleon artist Antoine Jangros. As quickly as Napoleon looted a city, he just as quickly left a treaty behind to give the appearance that everything was okay. In every treaty he tacked on a line requiring them to hand over at least twenty paintings to the French. When battles kept swinging heavily in the direction of the French, Pope Pius VI conceded more art in appeasement and to hold off outright plundering. The Treaty of Tolentino, the treaty to rule all treaties, was signed on february nineteenth, seventeen ninety seven between the French and the papacy of Pope Pius VI. Nine months into the campaign, seen as a success by the French in many ways, especially in the gathering of art. The treaties say that the French would have full access to any building, including churches, public museums, businesses, and private homes, and could take whatever they wanted. Then they went to Venice. For centuries, Venice had been known for holding some of the greatest art in all of Europe. The artists Vernese, Titoreto, Titian, and Bassano all called Venice home, and the wealthy lines of the Doges poured money into the art of the churches, palaces, and official buildings. With the treaty in place, it was time to visit the floating city. At the time, there were many things, especially in churches, that Venice took from other countries and cities, especially Constantinople. Listen back to episode 20 of the Siege of Constantinople, the painting done by Delacroix, to learn a little bit more about that and especially the horses that I'll also tell you about. Within the monastery of San Giorgio was a massive creation by Paolo Verenese, depicting the wedding at Cana and the first miracle performed by Christ, turning water into wine. It was commissioned by the wealthy abbot of San Giorgio, Giolarmo Scaccio on June 6, 1562. Verenese painted the masterpiece on canvas, which was unusual for Renaissance artists at the time. Until then, paintings were often done on wood, but the damp conditions of Venice made that difficult. Frescoes were almost impossible in the humidity, and the canvas was becoming more mainstream and accessible. The massive painting stretches over 32 feet and 22 feet high, the same measurements as the wall itself. It was finished around October 6, 1563, and the painting is in the high Renaissance style and filled with 130 figures, including Christ and the Apostles, as well as leaders of Europe at the time, including Francois Primier and many of the great Venetian artists, but Verenese never stated who anyone was. For over 230 years, the wedding at Cana hung on the wall of San Giorgio until 1797 when Napoleon soldiers entered and removed the painting, cutting it in half, rolled it up, and added to their art booty. In December 1797, 640 crates were sent from Italy in a massive convoy that arrived in Paris on july 27th and 28th, 1798, and were greeted with a two-day celebration, the Festival of Liberty and the Arts. For two full days a convoy drove through the streets of Paris. The Apollo Belvedere stood tall and held the banner that read, Greece lost them, Rome lost them. Their fate has changed twice, they won't change again. Many years ago I came across a lithograph by Pierre Gabrielle Bertot on the long procession in an unrecognizable Champ de Mars as we know it today. The four horses of Saint Mark take pride of place in the center, on either side a cage of lions and also a few camels. Napoleon returned as a hero and within a few short years he'd be ruling France. On july twenty second, eighteen oh three, the Musee Central des Artes de la Republique was renamed the Muse Napoleon and filled with this personally captured booty from Italy. The former summer apartments of Anne of Austria held the many Roman statuary, including the large Tiber taken from the Vatican along with the statue of the Nile. In eighteen fifteen, the Nile was returned to Rome, but the Tiber remained in the Louvre and is still in the Anne of Austria ruins, but currently in storage. You can see copies of each created in the 17th century in the Tuileries. The looting continued into the start of the 19th century. Dominique Vivant Denon opposed it early on, but later became one of its most prominent advocates. In the summer of 1811, Danon visited Tuscany and Pisa and removed the thirteenth century masterpiece by Shimabue Le Meista from the Church of Saint Francis, along with Giata's Saint Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata. Today both are still in the Salon Care of the Louvre. Denon took paintings by Frangelica, Fra Filippo Lippi, and Botticelli from Floris, all legally under the conditions of the treaties of Tolentino and Campo Formia and still in the Louvre. After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI and of Bourbon, returned once more to the throne of France, trying to wipe away the memory of the First Empire. He began removing many of the effigies and reminders that Napoleon had added to Paris, but stopped short of returning any of the art that had been taken. The first Treaty of Paris, signed on May 30, 1814, marked the end of strife between France, England, Austria, Prussia, and Russia. The end of Napoleon launched the return of the Bourbon King and reshaped the French territory to what it was before the Revolution in 1792, including returning Venice to the Austrians. One clause was left out though, that of the art, and it wasn't going anywhere. Napoleon's surprise return from his exile didn't sit well with the countries that agreed with the First Treaty, especially when he headed to Waterloo. The Prussians took matters into their own hands. They were really riled up about the massive loss of life they endured due to Waterloo, and Napoleon was to blame. Arriving in Paris the last few days of the Waterloo campaign, a Prussian envoy visited the Louvre and Dan and demanded the returns of works. Denon refused unless he was told by the king and turned them away. On the morning of July 11th, Prussian soldiers returned to the Louvre and physically removed any of the paintings and sculptures that had been taken by the French in 1794. All the graces of the first treaty were now in jeopardy, and a second treaty of Paris was drawn up over five months. Since the subject of looted art was completely ignored in the first treaty, it would be added in the second. Signed on November 20, 1815, it returned the rights to the artwork to the country of origin. However, because of changes in borders and even who controlled the area in 1815, as opposed to who had it at the time of looting, this threw a kink into the plan to France's benefit. Even with the treaty in place and clearly written that the art needed to be returned, Louis XVIII and his director of the Louvre, Danon, were slow or more like immovable in the action of actually doing so. Clemence von Metternich, an Austrian diplomat, had once orchestrated the marriage between Napoleon and his second wife Mary Louise, and later signed the treaty of his exile. Now in Paris he ordered that the artwork be returned to Austria, which included Venice. Here's where it gets really tricky. At the time of the looting, Venice didn't belong to Austria. It didn't until the Treaty of Campo Formia on october eighteenth, seventeen ninety-seven. The horses of St. Mark's were removed in September during a second attempt. The Austrians arrived to remove them in the middle of the day, banging and cutting at the sculptures and the Ark. Parisians outraged tried to stop them, and soldiers had to be brought in. They were finally removed days later in the dark of night, leaving lasting damage to the horses and the Ark. Although shouldn't they actually go back to Istanbul? Today there are copies recently restored, and I'll share more on that soon. Phoenician sculptor Antonio Canova was tasked by Pope Pius VII himself with collecting and returning the thousands of pieces taken from the Vatican. Canova believed that Napoleon violated the terms of the Treaty of Tolentino by holding Pope Pius VII captive in France following Napoleon's coronation in 1802. Because of this, in any and all art, manuscripts, treasures, gold, and stones taken from the Vatican must be returned. The problem was nobody else believed that, at least not in Paris. Eventually he did find one ally, the British William Richard Hamilton, a man himself known for his own looting through Greece, including the major pieces of the Parthenon. Still a lively debate today. In September, the Belgians were also calling for the return of their own art, but met with a very stubborn Denon who was protecting the Louvre. Finally allowed in on September 18, 1815, and for two weeks they reclaimed more than 80 paintings that had been taken mainly from the churches between 1794 and 1796. Canova was finally allowed to enter after lengthy negotiations on October 2, 1815. For days they loaded up paintings and sculptures along with the hundreds of manuscripts. Three weeks later on October twenty fourth, a convoy of forty one vehicles left Paris and headed back to Italy, although only a fraction of what was taken would return. Canova kept an inventory completed in Italy of what was taken. He noted five hundred and six paintings taken from Italy between 1796 and 1814, although the bulk was taken in the first two years. A handful of paintings and sculptures were lost, and in the end two hundred and ninety-four were returned to Italy. Of the ones that remained in the Louvre, they were either gifted by the Pope or traded, such as the case with the largest painting in the Louvre. Once the wedding feast of Canna arrived in the Louvre on july thirty first, seventeen ninety eight, it was glued back together, placed on the stretcher and into a frame and hung in the Salon Care. When it was known that the painting was on the list to be returned in eighteen fifteen, Denon stated that it was far too large to send back and that attempting to ship it to Venice would damage the piece. Clearly, the Venetians and the Austrians didn't want to cut it up again and allowed the painting to remain in the Louvre in exchange for a much smaller painting by Charles LeBron, the Rapat of Che Simon, now kept in the Gallery dell'Accademia in Venice. Canova was able to return many of the sculptures, including three that Napoleon held in the highest regard and made the base of the antiquity collection in the museum. The marble of Apollo Belvedere was a second century Roman copy of a Greek statue. Pope Julius II placed it in the Belvedere Palace in the Vatican. The very tall Apollo stretches out his arm that once held a bow and is ready to strike. The Laocon is a group sculpture that included the Trojan priest of Poseidon, Laocan, and his sons as they are attacked by snakes. Also placed in the Belvedere by Pope Julius II, and was first noticed by Francois Prime in 1515. Who asked the Pope if he could have it? Of course, that was declined. It would be quite the accomplishment for Napoleon to finally obtain the statue for France, even if only briefly. The Louvre may have the Venus de Milo, but it's originally had the Venus de Medici, copied in the first century from a Greek statue of Aphrodite, thought to be the one definite example of Venus. It was copied many times, including by Louis XIV. Copies could still be found all over France from the Tuileries to Versailles. It was part of the Villa Medici collection in Rome, and it was taken from Palermo, where it was hidden to avoid Napoleon's reach, but was still discovered and taken to Paris in 1803. Today, many still remain in the Louvre, but have remained through diplomatic treaties and exchanges. Should they have been taken in the first place? That is up for more debate. There are things that normally happen during the periods of conflict and war between many countries. But it doesn't make it right. On july twenty ninth, eighteen ninety-nine, at the first Hague Peace Conference, a formal decision and regulation concerning the laws and customs of war on land was adopted and signed by 23 states, including France, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain. Article 56 specifically states the property of the communes that of religious, charitable, and educational institutions, and those of art and science, even when state property shall be treated as private property. All seizure of and destruction or intentional damage done to such institutions, to historical monuments, works of art or science is prohibited and should be made the subject of proceedings. At the second International Peace Conference in 1907, an updated version was signed on October 18th, 1907 and adopted now by 101 states. It has become the rule even if it's not always respected. Of course, in the 1930s and 40s, Hitler and his ERR would toss the entire regulation out as he carved his way through Europe, taking anything he wanted, including many of the same things Napoleon once took and had been returned. Now, after listening to this, and I could have listed a ton of pieces that are still in the Louvre today, a fraction of what remained in the diplomatic trading is actually sent into other museums around France. And so a small fraction of it is actually in the Louvre. But I'm going to go in tomorrow and look because I'm pretty sure the most of the paintings in this Salon Carré and this Sal des États, which is the room where the Mona Lisa is, a lot of those paintings I know for a fact in the Sal des États, a lot of them were the collection of the kings, meaning Louis XIV and Francois Premier, but I think a lot of them are also part of things that were taken. And here, legally, that is also where the wedding feast at Cana is. And of course, as I said, the Mona Lisa, which was stolen, which I'll tell you more about next month, but of course was stolen and why she's famous. But it was stolen because they thought it was part of what Napoleon did steal, which isn't true at all. But in the Salon Carré is a lot of the 13th and 14th century Italian paintings with the beautiful gold and everything on it. And they're doing some work in there now, so I'm not sure how much is actually there, but I'm gonna go check it out tomorrow because I think a lot of those were ones that Vivant Denon took. So I did actually get a little, I felt a little sick to my stomach as I was researching these things, but it is a little bit different than what Hitler did in the 30s and 40s because he was actually stealing things from people, although museums and palaces and stuff, of course, there's people behind it, and it belongs to the to the people of that city and country. It is it is a little bit different. So, but I'm gonna go in and check it out. But in other news, they just announced this morning, which I knew it was coming in July, not January, in July, the reopening of the Apollo Gallery, and I figured that usually these things happen on Wednesday, and we're running out of Wednesdays in July, and they just announced it this morning that tomorrow, July 22nd, the Gallery d'Apalon, the sign, the site of the theft nine months ago on October 19th, will be reopened, but it's going to be completely empty. And I actually already saw a photo and all of the cases are gone. So I'm gonna go in tomorrow morning first thing and go check it out, and I will post pictures and everything up. And if you're listening to this after the day it comes out or even the week, you could always just make sure to look back on my Instagram and Facebook pages, and I'll have pictures of that and most likely do a video. I did do a walking video about the death of Mirah, pointing out many of the locations that I mentioned in last week's episode, but I had literally one problem after another with either I there was zero audio in the first stops I did, then I couldn't upload it all together, and it just it was just a nightmare. So I didn't put it out publicly. But if you are, you know, desperate and want to see it, send me an email and I'll send you the private link. But it just wasn't up to the standard of how I really want to do it. But I literally spent like a day and a half this weekend trying to get it to work, and I was ready to lose my mind. So, but thank you so much for being here today. It is in the 50s in the morning, the last two days here in Paris, and it feels more like those late September mornings before, you know, when you get that little cool in the air, and it has been amazing since our three heat waves, and I really hope we're through with that. But being mid-July, I I doubt it. But hopefully it's a little cooler wherever you are, and you're not in the middle of a heat wave, but it is July after all. So I hope you guys enjoyed this episode and learning a little bit more. There's of course so much more to this, and I could have made this like a for everything I do, I could have made it a six-hour episode. But I do have to move on with my life in the next episode. So there could be a time that we've returned to this yet again in other ways, but definitely check out pictures. I will post on my website, Claudihemingway.com. And if you're coming to Paris, reach out to do a walking tour of the streets of Paris. And if, or if you even want more information and have me work on planning your time here with all custom, just for you, not canned and packaged information day by day, reach out, claudyhemiway.com, and I will talk to you next week.