Emperor Napoleon EDG-Exhibits Development Group

With more than 300 original pieces, the exhibition entitled Emperor Napoleon was inaugurated at the Claustro de la Enseñanza. It consists of objects that belonged to Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his family and that are part of the private collection of Pierre-Jean Chalençon, president of Cercle France Napoléonien and administrator of the Souvenir Napoléonien, as well as a lifelong collector of objects associated to Napoleon.

The curatorship is headed by Bernard Chevallier, head curator and director of the Château de Malmaison National Museum in the city of Rueil-Malmaison, France. Organized by the Fundación QDK—directed by Elvira Cuervo de Jaramillo—this exhibition was made possible with the support of various sponsors and the French Embassy in Colombia. The exhibition includes paintings sculptures, furniture, uniforms, weapons, jewelry, tableware, books, and manuscripts, many with great historical value. Some of the most representative pieces—and the ones dearest to the collector—include the original sword used in Napoleon's crowning, the bed used by the emperor's brother, José, and the medal of honor that recognized him as First Consul of France.

Already shown in several countries in Europe and in the United States, this exhibition is presented in Latin America for the first time and it will remain open to the public at the Claustro de la Enseñanza until May 11 of this year. The exhibit will eventually travel to Medellin.

After being on view at the exhibition spaces of Claustro de la Enseñanza in Bogotá and Medellín (Colombia), the private collection of Pierre-Jean Chalençon continues with its international tour throughout the U.S. The next venue will be at Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana, from May 31st until October 8th, 2012. Other museums in the U.S., Canada and Europe will be part of this international itinerancy until 2015.