~Empress Josephine at the Musee du Luxembourg~

After a simple baguette sandwich lunch on a bench 

in the Jardin du Luxembourg

during my recent birthday trip to Paris,

I visited the Musee du Luxembourg

to see the exhibit of Josephine de Beauharnais,

mistress then wife then divorcee of Napoleon Bonaparte. 

The exhibit marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Josephine

on May 29th, 1814. 

The exhibit showed off not only various art pieces she'd collected 

but also luscious articles of her clothing... 

Below is just one panel of a gorgeous, gilded armoire from her bedroom... 

several likenesses done of her 

by different artists

and ornate furniture from her collection.

A jewelry box?

Imagine this mirror in your bedroom!

Josephine was a beauty who took lovers 

with a pragmatic eye 

aimed at serving her best (usually financial) interests. 

Napoleon, who began the relationship madly in love with her,

learned of her first lover 

and their relationship was never the same. 

The many love letters he wrote to her

became less frequent and passionate

as he then took his own lovers. 

When she could produce him no direct heirs,

and her grandson who had been named Napoleon's heir, died of croup,

Napoleon finally divorced her to marry another

but insisted that she keep her title as Empress.

And they remained friends.

Josephine was an accomplished harpist.

Below, a painting of her music room.

And one of her boudoir.

Josephine died of pneumonia at her beloved Chateau de Malmaison

which she bought and remodeled while married to Napoleon.

When he learned of her death, 

Napoleon locked himself in a room for two days,

refusing entrance to anyone. 

When he died, 

his last sentence 

ended with the word, Josephine.

For more on the exhibit, click HERE.

Exhibit: Josephine~ 

March 12/2014-June 29,2104

Musee du Luxembourg

19 rue de Vaugirard

75006 Paris

Tel: 1.40.13.62.00

Open daily: 10-7:30pm

10am-10pm Fridays and Mondays

(Photos copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Info via Wikipedia

Fontaine de Leda~ Missing Paris Day

On my writer's walking tour recently, 

I came across an older woman reading in one of these chairs

at the Fontaine de Leda in the Jardin du Luxembourg.

She got up to leave just as I snapped the photo 

so instead of  'Portrait d' une Femme Lisant'

we are left with 'L'Invitation dans le Jardin'. 

Originally located at the corner of Vaugirard and Rue du Regard,

the fountain was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806

and moved during Louis Napoleon's reconstruction 

of the center of Paris in 1856.

This beautiful bas-relief sculpture on raised pedestal

 is of 'Leda and the Swan', 

created by a young sculptor named Achille Valois (1785-1862).

It was preserved and moved to its present location 

behind (and attached to) the Medici Fountain.

The subject of Leda,

having been seduced or raped (we'll never know which) by the Greek god Zeus,

was perpetuated by Ovid throughout the Middle Ages

and became even more popular during the Italian Renaissance.

Painted, drawn or sculpted by the likes of 

Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Correggio,

their works were used 

as studies for future artist's pieces. 

Both Leonardo and Michelangelo's works of this subject 

were recorded as being in the French royal collection at Fontainebleau

but both were lost or destroyed. 

Correggio's was also damaged while in the collection

of the Regent of France, the figure of Leda said to have been 

stabbed with a knife by Louis XVI . 

A provocative subject eliciting many responses over the centuries

 including one critic's voice regarding the placement 

of the above bas-relief in the park,

"before the eyes of the public". 

Maybe that's why it sits behind the Fontaine du Medici

in a corner.

~Photos copyright: Kirsten Steen~
Info from Wikipedia