Napoleon et le Louvre,an exhibition with one hundred private treasures of Napoleon’s, is now on show in the Meridian Gate Exhibition Hall of Palace Museum (Forbidden City). Held by Beijing Palace Museum and the Louvre Museum of Paris, the exhibition started on April 5th and will last till July 3rd.

It is understood that the exhibition contains three parts, namely 'Napoleon I Dynasty'; 'Art in the Louvre'; and 'after 1815'; telling people the intimate relation between Napoleon and the Louvre.

Some of the exhibits, such as Napoleon's throne, the carpet decorated with eagles, Napoleon's private suitcase and a painting of Napoleon in the coronation dress, have come out of the Louvre for the first time.  

More than a textbook hero

When Jacques-Louis David's oil painting, Premiere Consul Bonaparte at Mont Saint-Bernard, Alpes, on May 20, 1800, was first included in the masterpieces from Versailles at the National Art Museum of China in 2005, it generated great interest among ordinary Chinese about Napoleon Bonaparte. Before that, the French hero was just a name that embodied power and majesty and a chapter in the history textbooks.

The ongoing Napoleon et le Louvre exhibition in the Meridian Gate Exhibition Hall of Palace Museum will further enhance knowledge of this legendary figure through 100 paintings, sculptures, porcelains, furniture and other items.