#Eugène Isabey

[venustapolis]

The Temptation of St. Anthony (Eugène Isabey, 1869)

[aqua-regia009]

Shipwreck of the Three-Master "The Emily" in 1823 (1865) Oil on canvas. ― Eugène Isabey (French, 1803-1886)

[desimonewayland]

Louis-Gabriel-Eugène Isabey (Paris 1803-1886 Paris)

The dyeworks in the souk, Algiers, 1830

Fondation Custodia | Collection Frits Lugt 

[mysterious-secret-garden]

Célestin Nanteuil, after Eugène Isabey - The alchemist, 1853.

Image from The British Museum See more about Célestin Nanteuil

[autophage]

How To Survive In Our Village

a collaborative storytelling game for 3-10 players

You will need:

three coins to flip

paper or other writing surface for a map

notecards to write on

a writing utensil

Round 1: Society

Starting with the player whose name has the longest history, and then proceeding widdershins (counterclockwise), each player describes a role within the Village. This can be official (mayor, seneschal, sherriff) or unofficial (matchmaker, drunkard, lothario). The next player gives the names of the current and previous person that occuppied that role, as well as the circumstances under which the role changed hands. At the end of the round, the first player (the one whose name has the longest history) names and describes the handing off of the role that was specified by the player before them. Each Role is written on a notecard, along with the names of both defined people in that role; these notecards make up the Society deck.

Round 2: Location

Before this round begins, draw a regular grid (Cartesian or hex probably work best). In the order from player with the earliest birthday in the year to latest in the year, players take turns labeling each space on the grid until the grid is filled up. Labels can include passable features (plain, meadow, road), structures (homes, places of commerce, monuments, temples), or features (natural or otherwise) that may impede motion (rivers, quarries, dense forests). Each player also flips all three coins. If all 3 coins come up the same, the player must describe an event that happened (either recently or passed down in oral tradition) at the location placed by the previous player; add a number to the location on the grid and write the event down on a notecard with the corresponding number; these notecards make up the History deck. This round continues until all spaces on the grid have a description.

Round 3: Needs

Starting with the player who last ate, and proceeding sunwise (clockwise), each player specifies a need that the villagers have (strict needs, such as food or water, but also social needs, such as status or amusement). Each subsequent player defines two different ways that the previously defined need can be met. At the end of the round, the first player (the one who most recently ate) defines two ways of meeting the need defined by the previous player. Each Need is written on a notecard, which constitute the Needs deck.

Round 4: How To Survive

Before this round begins, shuffle each Deck. Starting with the player who most recently suffered a hardship, and then proceeding widdershins (counterclockwise), each player flips 3 coins; for each that comes up heads, they must draw a card from any of the existing Decks. The player then specifies one Danger that is INSIDE the Village and one Danger that is OUTSIDE the village. The next player specifies how to avoid or mitigate each Danger defined by the previous player before specifying their own Dangers. The player must work any cards drawn into some aspect of what they have generated; after each player finishes, cards are shuffled back into their Decks. At the end of the round, the first player (the one who most recently suffered a hardship) specifies how to avoid or mitigate the Dangers specified by the player before them. This information is written on a notecard; these notecards constitute the Insular Knowledge of the Village.

(Background: Eugène Isabey’s “Entry to the Village of Bains”. Public domain, housed in the Met collection.)

[captainknell]

Cincinnati art museum?!?! I guess I gotta go see what else they have now...

Eugène de Beauharnais, circa 1815

Jean-Baptiste Isabey (French, 1767-1855)

Vienna/Austria

Source: Cincinnati Art Museum

[classicalartdark]

Edit after Eugène Isabey (A Storm off the Normandy Coast) (Metropolitan Museum of Art) (Ed. Lic.: CC BY-NC 3.0)

[josefavomjaaga]

The Memoirs of Madame de Rémusat, published only by her grandson, also contain an interesting footnote from the memoirs of her son Charles de Rémusat, who, at the tender age of around 5 or 6, was taken to one of the famous reviews of the Consular Garde, and to see Madame Bonaparte and the First Consul after that. The painting above must be an engraving after the sketch by Isabey that Charles mentions below.

(Broken up into two paragraphs for better readability).

On Sunday I was taken to the Tuileries, and allowed to look on at the review of the troops in the Carrousel from the ladies'-maids' window. A large drawing by Isabey, which has been engraved, exactly reproduces all that was interesting in that spectacle. One day, after the parade, my mother came for me (I think she had accompanied Madame Bonaparte into the court of the Tuileries), and took me up a staircase full of soldiers, at whom I stared hard. One of them, who was coming down, spoke to her; he wore an infantry uniform. 'Who is that?' I asked, when he had passed. He was Louis Bonaparte. Then I saw a young man going upstairs, in the well-known uniform of the Guides. His name I did not need to ask. Children in those days knew the insignia of every rank and corps in the army, and who did not know that Eugène dé Beauharnais was Colonel of the Guides?

At length we reached Madame Bonaparte's drawing-room. At first there was no one there but herself, one or two ladies, and my father, wearing his red coat embroidered in silver. I was probably kissed-perhaps they thought me grown; then no one noticed me any further. Soon an officer of the Consul's guard entered. He was short, thin. and carried himself badly, or at least carelessly. I was sufficiently drilled in etiquette to observe that he moved about a great deal, and made rather free. Among other things, I was surprised to see him sit on the arm of a chair. From thence he spoke, across a considerable distance, to my mother. We were in front of him, and I remarked his thin, almost wan face, with its brown and yellowish tints. We drew near him while he spoke. When I was within his reach, he noticed me; he took me by my two ears and pulled them rather roughly. He hurt me, and, had I not been in a palace, I should have cried. Then, turning to my father, he asked, 'Is he learning mathematics?' Soon after I was taken away. 'Who is that soldier?' I enquired of my mother. 'That soldier is the First Consul.'

[pesoglav]

An allegory of Death, with scythe and hourglass, 1821 by Eugène Isabey

[a-mysterious-wisp-of-mist]

Esteemed young man who was lucky enough to avoid Spain, I greet you.

(Bow)

- @headlessgenius

Bessières enters the kitchen, where Eugène is laying the table for breakfast.

Eugène? There's a letter for you.

For me?

He eagerly opens it.

Oh, look. It does not bear a name as a signature. I guess it's some sort of riddle then? You guys have such funny customs in these afterlifes.

Uhm, Eugène...

Let's see. Headless... wait, it would not be my ... my dad? No, I do not think he'd want to scare me like that.

Eugène.

The writer congratulates me on avoiding Spain. So, obviously, it's either a Frenchman who was in Spain, or a Spaniard, or a Brit. The British pretend the whole of the Napoleonic Wars were fought in Sp...

Eugène!

What?

It's a link. You touch it, and you see who sent it. Like this.

Oh. Fascinating. It's a painter then. Even a famous painter! We should get him in contact with Isabey. - But I was right, it was a Spaniard, and you do have funny customs in these afterlifes.

[worldsandemanations]

The Temptation of St. Anthony (Eugène Isabey, 1869)

[venustapolis]

Shipwrecking of three-masted ship Emily 1823 (Eugène Isabey, 1865)

[aqua-regia009]

The fire of the steamer Austria (Detail), 1858 - oil on canvas. ― Eugène Isabey (French, 1803-1886)

[proartspb]

Французский живописец-маринист Eugène Isabey http://dlvr.it/T4BRFQ

[stephiapw]

Eugène Isabey (1803-1886) - Etude de paysage

[josefavomjaaga]

There even are several versions of this anecdote. My favourite of course being the one that has Isabey confuse Napoleon with Eugène (due to both wearing the same green uniform) and jumping on the back of him as a prank - only to belatedly realize who this really was...

Why didn't Naps like leapfrog? What happened?

Sit yo ass down anon because this is one of my top 5 favorite Nap stories of all time

So one moonless summer night in the early days of the empire Jean-Baptiste Isabey (a famous artist and pupil of David) and some friends were walking around the gardens on Malmaison when a young aide-de-camp made the suggestion that they should play leapfrog. Isabey, a grown ass 35 year old man who didn’t like to acknowledge that he was a grown man, agreed to play. So everything was going fine and dandy until it was Isabey’s turn. He managed to leap over 5 of his fellow players and he noticed just ahead of him was the silhouette another man. This person wasn’t crouching down, he was standing up with his head bent down. Isabey, thinking nothing of it, thought this was a challenge so he proceeded to try and leap over the “sixth player” and instead full on body slammed him.

Now this is the part where the record scratches and you here Isabey say something along the lines of “Yeah, that’s me. You might be wondering how I got in this situation…“

Because this “sixth player” was actually Emperor Napoleon. Somehow everyone had forgotten that Napoleon liked to take walks in the Malmaison garden at night. Now poor Isabey is on the ground along with a VERY angry, probably bruised Napoleon. So what does a grown ass 35 year old man like Isabey do? 

He runs away and doesn’t look back.

Unfortunately for him, Napo found out it was Isabey who knocked him over and promptly fired his ass. However, Josephine very much liked Isabey and together they worked on a plan that would get Isabey rehired. It worked and Napoleon happily welcomed Isabey back to his court a few months later.