Eugène de Beauharnais, a European prince

Born in 1781 from the marriage of Marie-Josèphe-Rose Tascher de La Pagerie with Viscount Alexandre de Beauharnais,Eugene knew how to attract the sympathy of his father-in-law, General Bonaparte, who had become First Consul then Emperor. His life is primarily at the service of the career of Napoleon Bonaparte, whether it is his military commitments, always marked by great courage and a real sense of strategy, in the service of the Emperor, of whom he became the adopted son,in the service of imperial power as Viceroy of Italy, in the service of his family by marrying Princess Auguste-Amélie of Bavaria,representative of one of the oldest European lines which brings him into the circle of sovereign and princely families.The household is happy; their love gives birth to many children; their family life is based on the sincere affection that unites its members.When the Empire fell, Prince Eugene and his wife retired to Bavaria. Titled Duke and Duchess of Leuchtenberg by King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria,they are entering a new stage of their life; against all odds, by dint of diplomacy and prudence, they recover,exceptional case with in the imperial kinship. Until now, the portrait of Eugene had been able to be approached for certain aspects of his life.For the first time, the exhibition offers a synthesis between the theaters that were his residences in Paris, Milan and Munich by developing correspondences and comparisons. In addition to his biographical journey supported by works of art and representations of artists as famous as Antoine-Jean Gros, François Gérard, Jean-Baptiste Isabey, Andrea Appiani, Giovanni Battista Comolli,Gaetano Manfredini, Karl Joseph Stieler, the exhibition focuses on the decor and furnishings of his residences, his passion for the arts, his taste for science, his sense of managementLoans from prestigious public and private collections, across Europe, such as those of H.M. the King of Sweden, the Duke of Bavaria, the Louvre and Versailles museums, the Château d'Arenenberg or the Hôtel de Beauharnais,the residence of H.E. the German Ambassador to France, trace through more than 150 works a life of honor and righteousness, at the service of the beings that fate entrusted to him and the functions he assigned to himAll are there to recall his posthumous fortune as ancestor of most of the princely and reigning families of Northern Europe.Presented mainly at the Château de Bois-Préau, which is reopening to the public after more than 25 years of closure and one year of work, the exhibition is also developed at the Château de Malmaisonin which the visitor will be able to discover the sequences on the natural sciences and music, the key works concerning Eugene in the route of the permanent collections as well as Eugene's own bedroom at Malmaison. The exhibition is also in partnership with the Palazzo Reale in Milan.

Office:

Elisabeth Caude, general heritage curator and specialist in the Napoleonic period,director of theCastles of Malmaison and Bois-Préau, the island of Aix and the Bonaparte house in Ajaccio

Rémi Cariel, Vincent Hadot, Christophe Pincemaille et Isabelle Tamisier-Vetois, scientific team ofnational museum of the castles of Malmaison and Bois-Préau

Jörg Ebeling, German Center for Art History (DFK Paris)

Exhibition organized by the Réunion des musées nationauxGrand Palais and the national museum of the castles of Malmaison and Bois-Préau

PRESS KIT IN FRENCH