STAGING POWER: The Paris of Napoleon Bonaparte with Sylvia Sagona

Napoleon, the master of spin and propaganda, used every art form to publicise his image of himself and his regime as he rose from General to Emperor. The city of Paris with its triumphal arches spoke of the glory of ancient Rome, while its plundered art treasures were intended to make it the museum capital of Europe. Even Notre Dame and the bridges over the Seine were altered to stage grandiose spectacles of power.

Sylvia Sagona is an internationally recognised specialist on 19th century French society. She retired from the French Department at the University of Melbourne to work on historical documentaries for French and Australian television and is currently researching a book on Parisian women in the 19th century.

Jacques-Louis David, The Coronation of Napoleon, 1805–07 (exhibited 1808), Musée du Louvre, Paris