Davenport, IOWA (September 2012) On Sunday, September 23 the lecture, "Faces of Napoleon: Select Portraits from the Private Collection of Pierre-Jean Chalençon" will be held at 2pm at the Figge Art Museum. In this lecture, Heidi E. Kraus, PhD, co-curator of the University of Iowa exhibition Napoléon and the Art of Propaganda, will examine the political importance, historical reliance and aesthetic value of select Napoleonic portraits created from approximately 1796 through 1850.
While portraits of Napoleon I remain undeniably propagandistic, many possess a beauty, originality and complexity that often is underemphasized by art historians. The lecture will explore concrete examples of how artists working in the service of Napoleon, including Gros, Appiani, Girodet and Delaroche, were engaged with and inspired by their prescribed "official" subject.
The lecture offered in conjunction with the University of Iowa exhibition Napoléon and the Art of Propaganda: Art from the collection of Pierre-Jean Chalençon, on view at the Pentacrest Museums Gallery for Arts, Humanities & Sciences in the Old Capitol Museum, and the Black Box Theater at the Iowa Memorial Union, Iowa City through January 29, 2013. To learn more about the exhibition, visit http://uima.uiowa.edu/
The lecture is free with membership or paid admission
About the Figge Art Museum
The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 12-5 p.m. Thursdays the museum is open until 9pm. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit our website, www.figgeartmuseum.org.
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