Exhibition-event – From Naples to Chantilly: the collection of the Queen Caroline Murat

Caroline Murat (1782–1839), sister of Napoleon I and Queen of Naples from 1808 alongside her husband Joachim Murat, was a great patron of the arts, nicknamed the ‘Queen of the Arts’. Passionate about the Bay of Naples and the ancient sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, she built up a remarkable collection by supporting major artists such as Ingres, Rebell and Canova. The exhibition at the Musée Condé in the Château de Chantilly recreates this collection thanks to important loans and recently reattributed works. It highlights Caroline Murat’s innovative taste and her essential role in the artistic influence of Naples in the early 19th century, inviting the public on a journey between Naples and Chantilly.

Chantilly, a little Naples

Chantilly is a little Naples. The exhibition will focus on the link between Naples and Chantilly and between Caroline Murat and Henri d’Orléans, Duke of Aumale and founder of the Musée Condé. The youngest sister of Napoleon I, Caroline Bonaparte married Joachim Murat, a brigadier general in the imperial army and close to the emperor, on 20 January 1800. Together, they had four children, whose portraits by their teacher Benjamin Rolland attest to the Murat couple’s close ties with the renowned artists of their time. The Murat collection has its roots in imperial France and was enriched during their reign in Naples. Léopold de Bourbon-Siciles, Prince of Salerno and Regent of Naples from 1815 at the time of the Restoration, received a large part of the Murat collection. These works eventually joined the collection of the Duke of Aumale, son-in-law of the Prince of Salerno, in 1854.

The Queen of the Elysée

Although Caroline Murat’s collecting activities flourished in Naples, they began in France, in the couple’s Parisian residences. From the Elysée Palace to the Château de Neuilly, the exhibition will reveal her early taste for antique furniture and décor, already evident in the queen’s salons and studies. The landscapes and interior views of these residences will recall the artistic and architectural refinement that characterised Caroline Murat’s lifestyle.

Napoli!

Reigning in Naples from 1808 onwards, the Murat couple took up residence in the royal palace. This exceptional residence became the setting for Caroline Murat’s growing collection, but also a place where the queen welcomed and developed her artistic and intellectual circle. The artistic and intellectual milieu that surrounded the Bay of Naples when the Murats arrived was steeped in Neoclassicism. Italy was then focused on its ancient, artistic and historical heritage, but also on the great names of the Renaissance. Italian painting of the modern era thus adorned the walls of the royal palace.

The decade of French rule was marked by the implementation of an arts policy in the field of archaeology. Caroline Murat developed a keen interest in the archaeological excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum. More than just a taste for treasures, it was a genuine awareness of heritage that seemed to have been born in the queen. She surrounded herself with the most enlightened scholars, such as the Count of Clarac, Aubain-Louis Millin, and François Mazois, who undertook to compile his work and study drawings in the Ruins of Pompeii, dedicated ‘to Her Majesty, the Queen of the Two Sicilies’. The origins of a ‘Queen’s museum’, the remarkable antiquities preserved at the Musée Condé and presented in this exhibition bear witness to Caroline Murat’s passion for archaeology and the scientific nature of her collection.

Although Caroline Murat’s taste leaned towards works from the past, the Queen of Naples should also be considered a patron of the arts and artists of her time. The exhibition will aim to showcase this enlightened patronage and sensitivity to contemporary production, focusing on major artistic figures whose works were particularly appreciated and collected by Caroline Murat. Particular attention will be paid to Antonio Canova – whose work was introduced to France by the Murat couple – François Gérard, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, François-Marius Granet, Benjamin Rolland and Louis-Nicolas Lemasle. Particular emphasis will be placed on Neapolitan landscapes and views of Vesuvius, whose leading painters, Joseph Rebell, Alexandre-Hyacinthe Dunouy and Louis-Nicolas-Philippe-Auguste de Forbin, occupy a prominent place in Caroline Murat’s collection.

Visitors will be immersed in the panoramic landscapes of the Bay of Naples, where the rumblings of Vesuvius seem to be audible.

With the exceptional support of the Château de Fontainebleau and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.