banner logo

  
Spring 2012 Newsletter - The Style that Ruled the Empires

 

In This Issue
The Style that Ruled the Empires
Where the Fabulous Lives
Join Our Mailing List
Quick Links


Like me on Facebook
Greetings!
 
 Alix

Art, music, fashion, gastronomy, all of these good things have made this unusually mild winter exceptionally pleasant for me. You  already know about it if you are one of the rapidly growing number of Swan Ways' facebook fans. If not, and you are on facebook, why not "like" us now? Just press the icon on the left, and you are on! It is by far the fastest and easiest way to share content that I feel will interest you, such as events I have attended or heard about, exhibits, concerts, operas, fashion news, special promotions, ...and a great way for you to let us know what you like and how we can do better.

 

Among recent Facebook posts since our last newsletter, there are several art exhibits which are still running and I know you would enjoy:

 

In New York:

 

The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant Garde through June 3 at the Metropolitan Musem of Art; 5th Avenue at 83rd St., Manhattan, through June 3.  

 

Renoir, Impressionism, and Full-Length Painting through May 13 at the Frick Collection, 1 East 70th Street, Manhattan, through May 13. 

 

In Washington DC:

 

Royalists to Romantics: Women Artists from the Louvre, Versailles, and Other French National Collections at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., through July 29.

 

The Style that Ruled the Empires: Napoleon, Russia, and 1812 at Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens, through June 2. Read more about this exhibit in our feature article below.

 

All our posts aim to strengthen Swan Ways' relationship with you, our friends and customers, and to learn more about your likes and preferences in order to offer you the content and products than can best help you celebrate your inner empress. It is our mission and our goal. 

 

With warmest regards,

 

Alix

 

The Style that Ruled the Empires:

Napoleon, Russia, and 1812  

 

Commemorating the bicentennial of Napoleon's ill-fated invasion of Russia in 1812, the Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens' new exhibition, The Style that Ruled the Empires: Russia, Napoleon, and 1812, brings together exquisite objects from their renowned collection of Russian and French decorative art as well as items on loan from private collections.

 

On display are paintings, porcelain, glassware, furnishings, costumes, and armor and military objects that examine how the Empire style, linked to Napoleon's reign in France, set the standard for elegance and refinement in Russia as throughout the rest of Europe. Drawing for inspiration on classical Greece and Rome, the style evolved from the relatively simple lines of the Directoire period to the more ornate style that came in vogue after Napoleon's return from Egypt and his ascent to power as Emperor (1804-1815).  

 Russian plateNapoleonic display

Adopted first by a Parisian elite recovering from the excesses of the French revolution, the style was adopted  across Europe by Napoleon's allies and enemies alike. Heavily promoted by Napoleon and Josephine, the French luxury industry gave artisans, architects and Empire chair 2designers the means to produce works that enhanced France's standing as the world's leading arbiter of style and taste. To this day, the Empire style connotes elegance, refinement and grandeur, and its ubiquitous elements - eagles, palm trees, lyres, swans, Egyptian sphinxes, lions' heads and paws - are unmistakably associated with French power at the zenith of Napoleon's short-lived supremacy.  

 

The exhibition highlights some beautiful examples of Russian craftsmanship such as intricate goblets, delicate ormolu boxes, bronzes, and porcelain depicting Napoleon, the Tsar Alexander I and the Russian commanders during the campaign. 

 

On loan from the private collection of SheperdNapoleonic armor Paine, the president of the Napoleonic Historical Society, are a Napoleonic cuirass (breastplate), two helmets, and a sword belonging to Prince Eug�ne de Beauharnais, empress Josephine's son, whom Napoleon adopted and appointed Viceroy of Italy.  Eug�ne fought bravely in

the Russian campaign and the troops under his command  participated in the battles of Borodino and Maloyaroslavets, in which Napoleonic forces prevailed against the Russians.  Napoleon praised the courage of the Italian forces under Eug�ne and in fact, Maloyaroslavets has come to be known as the "Battle of the Italians,"

  

Not surprisingly, the stars of the show, to my taste, areEmpire gown two magnificent Empire gowns from the private collection of Cristina Barreto and Martin Lancaster. The first, a court dress richly embroidered in gold, is a stunning example of the opulence of Empire evening attire: simple lines with extravagantly costly and superbly executed trimmings. The second, somewhat more modest in silk organza, is accessorized by a gorgeous cameo necklace, a delicate fan, and a magnificent Kashmir shawl. The mannequins' hairstyles are also true to the classical influence of the Empire style, with masses of curls framing the face and the longer black hair gracefully drawn into loose buns.  

 Empire costume

 

 

Where the fabulous lives

Images of Hillwood  

 

 

The estate of the late Marjorie Merriweather Post, Hillwood comprises a 40 room mansion and 25 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens. The Mansion is filled with treasures Mrs. Post collected during her residence in Russia and travels around the world. Highlights of the collection include the largest private collection of Faberg� eggs outside of Russia, 18th and 19th-century French furnishings and art work, S�vres porcelain, and much, much more! March is Orchid Month, featuring lectures, workshops, and tours of the greenhouses, which house about 2000 varieties of orchids and many other rare plants.  The Museum Shop offers a selection of items related to Mrs. Post's collection, new and exciting jewelry, books and gifts.  Among their current offerings are orchids and Swan Ways' "The Eagle" scarf.
 

 Hillwood entrance

Hillwood dining room
Dining Room 
Mansion
Mansion

 

 

Hillwood entrance
Entrance
Faberge Egg
Faberge Egg

tt here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Japanese garden
Japanese Garden
Russian Chalice
Russian Chalice 
Hillwood Greenhous
Greenhouse with Orchids 
The Eagle
Napoleonic display with "The Eagle"
Orchids for sale
Orchids for Sale
Orchid book
 
articlewritingInvitation to contribute to the newsletter
 
We welcome your thoughts on articles or questions you would like to see addressed in the newsletter.  If you write an article and it is selected for publication, we will post it with your byline and picture and we will send you a $25.00 certificate valid on any purchase from the Swan Ways' collection.
 
We look forward to hearing from you!   


Alix Sundquist
Swan Ways