Josephine Bonaparte may be the only person in Louisiana with more diamonds and gold than Master P and Cash Money combined.
Her diamonds, dresses, pearls and statues are all on display at “Josephine, Le Grand Amour de Napoleon.” The exhibit at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum depicts the life of Josephine from her birth in 1763 through her marriage to Napoleon Bonaparte.
Josephine has an indirect correlation to Louisiana. At the time of the Louisiana Purchase, April 1803, she was married to Napoleon, the emperor of France who signed the Louisiana Territory over to the U.S. in 1803.
The exhibit divides the life of Josephine into three stages: before, during and after Napoleon.
The “before” stage begins with the life of Josephine as a young woman growing up on the Caribbean Island of Martinique. Included in this stage are her birth certificate, clothing and drawings of her as a young child. The stage concludes with Josephine’s marriage to Napoleon.
The wardrobe and accessories become much more extravagant in the second stage, in which the story of Josephine’s marriage to Napoleon is shown.
Artwork depicting her home – the Malmaison – furniture, porcelain, jewelry and costumes tell the story of Jospehine’s taste and personal lifestyle.
The final stage traces the life of Jospehine from her divorce from Napoleon in 1809 until her death in 1814.
The certificate of divorce, Josephine daughter’s cradle and a list of descendants highlight the final stage.
Kendra Kimmons, LASM marketing and public relations director, said the exhibit explains “one of history’s most intriguing women.”
“Visitors will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see this particular collection, the first major exhibit mounted on Josephine Bonaparte’s life,” Kimmons said. “The intimate and personal items chosen for this exhibit show the Empress as a serious woman who overcame many hardships and loved her family dearly.”
Flo Rabalais and Janell Hernandez attended the exhibit on their lunch break from the Old State Capitol Welcome Center.
Both women said they enjoyed the exhibit and the story it told.
“The exhibit showed her in a personal way,” Hernandez said. “You could tell she was a mother and grandmother and not just an empress.”
Roughly 80 percent of the 150 artifacts in the exhibit are from Josephine’s home in France, Kimmons said.
Kimmons hopes visitors will walk away from the exhibit with “a better understanding of this remarkable woman’s role, not only in Napoleon’s life, but also in European and Louisiana history.”
The exhibit will be shown at LASM as part of the state’s Louisiana Bicentennial celebration, which lasts through February 1, 2004. For information on tickets and showing times, visit the Jospehine Web site at www.empressjospehine.net.