Marie-Louise

Marie-Louise Bedchambre — Marie-Louise’ magnificent bed at Compiegne has the baldequin held by cherubs (the theme of the décor is abundance and fertility) and the soft muslin sheets embroidered with gold and the white silk and mother of pearl brocade. The Empress’ apartment was in the original queen’s apartment used by Marie-Antoinette until she decided to set up in a new wing seven years before the French Revolution. Josephine had ordered all the furniture and it was placed there in the months before the divorce. She never saw the completed bedroom.

When Napoleon became Emperor of France, the Austrian Emperor was Marie-Antoinette’s nephew, Francis .

Napoleon’s desire for an heir prompted him to divorce Josephine. He crudely said he needed to find “a womb”. He considered one of the sisters of the Russian Tsar but settled on the Austrian Emperor’s eldest daughter Marie-Louise. They were married less than three months after Napoleon divorced Josephine. Napoleon was 41 and Marie-Louise was 18.

Napoleon, ever conscious of history, chose to meet Marie-Louise at the Palace of Compiègne as her great aunt Marie-Antoinette had met her husband, future Louis XVI, there 40 years earlier.

Always impatient, he changed the plans for receptions and, against the norms, consummated the marriage the first night at Compiègne. (They had been married by proxy before she left Vienna. Napoleon checked with his uncle the Cardinal Fesch whether they were married. The Cardinal said they were married from a civil viewpoint, although it was questionable from a religious viewpoint. For Napoleon that was good enough.)

Marie-Louise's circular Boudoir, Compiegne — Directly behind the Empress’ bedchamber at Compiègne is a spacious circular boudoir which doubled as a bathroom. It had originally been designed for Josephine the year before the divorce. Josephine did not get to occupy the apartment.
The room was designed for optimal lighting. The walls were completely covered in white pleated silk. A bathtub was concealed in a nook opposite the fireplace.

The next morning observers commented Napoleon looked twenty years younger. He said to his aide-de-camp:

My friend, marry a German. They are the best women in the world: sweet, good, innocent and fresh as roses.”

The official marriage ceremonies took place in Saint Cloud (civil ceremony) and Paris (religious ceremony) five days later.

Napoleon_Marie_Louise_Marriage — Section of the Georges Rouget painting of the religious wedding on Napoleon and Marie-Louise which took place in the Salle Carré of the Louvre, transformed into a chapel by Napoleon’s architect Fontaine. The paintings were removed and the walls were decorated with Gobelins tapestries and gold embroidered crimson and blue fabric. Napoleon’s uncle (his mother’s half brother), Cardinal Fesch performed the ceremony. Napoleon would have preferred to have the religious ceremony at Notre Dame, setting for his coronation. However the fact that he had imprisoned the Pope and had been excommunicated the year before made this impossible. Half of the cardinals did not attend because they believed the wedding was bigamy as Napoleon’s divorce from Josephine had not been recognised by the church. Napoleon nevertheless spent almost as much on the lavish ceremony and reception for 1500 people as he had on his coronation over five years earlier.

Marie-Louise mostly used apartments and furniture which had previously belonged to Josephine in the imperial residences. The decorators quickly adding stitches to the fabrics to convert the “J” for Josephine to a horn of plenty.

The notable exception was the Tuileries—the main imperial residence in Paris.

The French royal family had been forced to leave Versailles and live at the Tuileries Palace in Paris for three years during the French Revolution. Marie-Antoinette had chosen not to stay in the former queen’s apartment, which dated back to Louis XIV’s wife Marie-Thérèse. Marie-Antoinette’s son and daughter used that apartment and she set up a new apartment on the ground floor.

Napoleon had taken over the former bedchamber of the French Kings from Louis XIV to Louis XVI. Josephine chose to use Marie-Antoinette’s former apartments on the ground floor, which were directly underneath Napoleon’s. A small private staircase connected the two apartments.

When Napoleon married Marie-Louise he decided to redecorate the Empress’ apartment. Josephine’s bed went to the Imperial furniture storage. Napoleon commissioned artist Pierre-Paul Prud’hon* to redecorate the new Empress’ apartment which he did in the “neo-Greek” style.

Marie-Louise's Bedchambre at Tuiliers Palace — The Tuileries Palace was destroyed by fire in 1871. The only image we have of Marie-Louise’ bedchamber is the painting by Isabey . It shows Napoleon with his new born son being presented to Marie-Louise in her bed at the Tuileries.
It was painted in 1811, the year the child was born and is currently in a private collection.

The Prud’hon portrait of Josephine is in the Louvre, opposite the large painting of Napoleon’s coronation

*Prud’hon had painted Josephine in the park of Malmaison in 1805.

He was commissioned to design decorations for special events such as Napoleon’s coronation and his wedding to Marie-Louise. He also designed the crib for Napoleon’s son.

He became Marie-Louise’ art teacher.

Pierre-Paul Prud’hon—self portrait

Empress Jewel Cabinet — The Empress’ Jewel Cabinet from the Tuileries Palace is now displayed at the Louvre

The year before the divorce, the new Jewel Cabinet* Josephine had ordered for her bedroom at the Tuileries Palace was delivered.

It was the single most expensive piece of furniture created by Jacob-Desmalter in the entire Imperial collection.

The bronze decorations conceal the secret opening mechanism. Each of the three doors contains ten solid mahogany drawers to hold the Empress’ impressive collection.

When the bedroom was refurnished for Marie-Louise, the Jewel Cabinet remained. All the secret locks were changed for the new Empress.

*Marie-Antoinette’s Jewel Cabinet, now back in place in her bedroom at Versailles, was used by Josephine at the Palace of Saint Cloud.