#Metternich

[empirearchives]

I am now imagining Napoleon monkey hunting in America and eating coconuts to reflect on his past greatness

[bunniesandbeheadings]

20 year old Duke of Reichstadt, aka Napoleon II and his 58 year old greatest enemy, the Chancellor of the Austrian empire, Metternich

((Inspired by a post by @whatdoyouwanttobecalled ))

[isthenapoleoncute]

One time I had a pet Marie Louise and it was cool cuz she had a little napoleon chick but then she gave it to my neighbor’s Metternich to eat all in exchange for one (1) bag of Doritos

I know that’s atypical behavior but it still weirded me out so I don’t adopt them anymore

[postcard-from-the-past]

German actress Gräfin Claire Wolff-Metternich-Wallentin on a vintage postcard

[cirilee]

czech rebel x austrian bastard aka idiotic language barriers new doodles masterpost

coproduction with my manželka @neoncl0ckwork: Poštolka, the giant hairy loupežnik with the tattoos and Jenik, the fluffy haired soft boy belong to her!!

metternich and franz the first actually existed and are, of course, very historically accurately portrayed here X'D

[cedyat]

I'm here to bring you totally true Napoleonic history facts and stupid Simpsons jokes.

[captainknell]

I'm reading about the 9 hour Dresden conference where Napoleon and Metternich are just arguing back and forth and all I can picture is that scene in Megamind when he and Metroman are bickering 🤣

[count-lero]

The session of plenipotentiaries that never happened,

Or The tale of how I rediscovered that one lithography of Isabey’s famous painting in extremely high resolution and went through a total recall, so that everybody could suffer (myself including) ⭐️

The arrival of the Duke of Wellington had not only affected Vienna's diplomatic activity and social calendar; it was also posing a problem to the painter Jean-Baptiste Isabey, who was trying to capture the congress on canvas. He had been working for some time, and he had finally found a way to balance all the strong personalities, many of them patrons, into one single painting, and yet not offend national sensibilities or fragile egos.

The painting, which depicted the delegates gathered in a conference room, turned out to be a compromise in the best spirit of Vienna diplomacy.

Metternich, the president of the Congress, draws the eye, as the only standing figure in the foreground.

Castlereagh, though, commands the center, sitting with his legs gracefully crossed and elbow resting on the table.

The light shining through the window, however, falls onto Talleyrand, sitting across the table with his dress sword at his side. An empty chair on both his right and left make him further stand out, as do the nearby figures who look to him, just as many of the smaller powers had sought his leadership the last few months.

As Isabey was putting the finishing touches to his composition, he had to figure out what to do about the fact that the Duke of Wellington was now also in town. Starting over was out of the question. Omitting a man of his stature was equally impossible. Yet it was not easy to incorporate him into a canvas on which all the best places had already been taken. The painter's solution was simple and elegant: why not make the painting commemorate the Duke of Wellington's arrival in Vienna?

That way, the duke could simply be inserted on the far left side of the painting, without any insult to his position. As for the duke's reluctance to be painted from a side angle (he was self-conscious about his nose), Isabey had overcome that with a well-targeted compliment: didn't Wellington look like the handsome and chivalric Henry IV? Pleased with this comparison, Wellington accepted, joking that Isabey was a "good enough diplomat to take part in the Congress".

The painter also had to apply his finesse to convince Humboldt to enter the studio. The Prussian ambassador hated to have his portrait made, and, sure enough, he first declined, claiming that he had "too ugly a face ever to spend a penny" on a portrait. With this statement, Isabey saw his opportunity and emphasized that he would not "ask the slightest recompense for the pleasant trouble I am going to take". Isabey only wanted "the favor of a few sittings".

"Oh, is that all?" Humboldt quickly came around when he realized it would not cost him anything. "You can have as many sittings as you like".

Later, many congratulated Isabey on his portrait, particularly the fine job with Humboldt. The Prussian did not pay anything, as agreed, and Isabey got his revenge, Humboldt joked, by painting "an excellent likeness of me".

Few could complain of the treatment received from Isabey's flattering brush. This famous painting of the Congress of Vienna was pleasing to all, though typical of this peace conference, the scene was purely imaginary. The group of twenty-three delegates had never met in exactly this way before. Isabey had painted the portraits of each figure individually, and then later assembled the whole group together.

And so, symbolically, this simulated image would commemorate a congress that never was.

After that spectacular depiction of historical context surrounding Isabey’s magnificent canvas by David King few things are left to be added. I would simply love to highlight some other figures of utmost importance for the diplomatic life of that illustrious historical period - there are

Karl August von Hardenberg, Prime Minister of Prussia at the time;

Herren Wacken and Friedrich von Gentz, two Secretaries who were responsible for the protocols of the most important Congress' meetings;

count Karl Vasilyevich Nesselrode, a Russian-German diplomat, who became state chancellor of the Russian Empire in 1816;

prince Andrey (Andrew) Kirillovich Razumovsky, an extremely wealthy Russian aristocrat and diplomat, for whom Vienna was like his second home;

and we shouldn’t (or rather can’t) forget about general Charles Stewart-Vane, Castlereagh’s younger brother who definitely knew how to throw an unforgettable party, so refined aristocratic society could discuss his wild adventures at their fashionable salon meetings day and night. ✨

P.S.

Perhaps, there should be more posts with other details of the lithograph as well as Isabey’s original canvas, I’ll just need some time and motivation for that. 👌

[141135]

[knihovnachrastany]

Kynžvart Castle in western Bohemia can be proud of one of the largest encyclopedic libraries in our country. It comes from the first half of the 19th century. The library is part of the museum, which was created in the castle by the chancellor and diplomat in the service of the Austrian court, Franz Georg Karl von Metternich. photo: Petr Halla ©

https://www.zamek-kynzvart.cz/cs/vice-o-zamku/zamecke-sbirky

https://region.rozhlas.cz/na-zamku-kynzvart-je-k-videni-metternichova-knihovna-cita-na-25-tisic-vzacnych-7574366

[joachimnapoleon]

My newest read. @count-lero, are you familiar with this one?

[empirearchives]

Metternich wrote in 1807:

“All nations have made the mistake to attach to a treaty with France the value of a peace, without immediately preparing again for war. No peace is possible with a revolutionary system, whether with a Robespierre who declares war on chateaux or a Napoleon who declares war on Powers.”

Source: A World Restored, Henry Kissinger

Oh Metternich. I feel the need to point out that Napoleon never declared a war in his life.

[bunniesandbeheadings]

Remember when Metternich pissed wellington off so bad in 1820 that Wellington dead ass said “If you don’t clean up this shit in two minutes I swear to god I will put napoleon right back where I found him”

[isthenapoleoncute]

A Metternich went into the enclosure and got told off. Was my Napoleon a bit too rude?

Rating: Not Cute!

Listen, why do you have your Napoleon in an enclosure where there are wandering Metternichs? Metternichs can inspire Napoleons to throw their hats on the ground!

They also mock a Napoleon for his choice of marriage and at least according to themselves are a nail in the coffin guaranteeing Austria will support the Coalition and inspire Napoleons to say really creepy things about how they’re willing to fight to the last non-Frenchman and they have an income of 100,000 lives and then Metternichs also get into really weird beefs with Napoleon chicks

But mostly it’s the hat thing! Your Napoleon got so stressed he threw his hat to the ground! Now it’s dirty. Get him a new one and put up a better fence to prevent roaming Metternichs from making him sad.

[postcard-from-the-past]

German actress Gräfin Claire Wolff-Metternich-Wallentin on a vintage postcard

[elsalouisa]

"Madame de Metternich, or “La Princesse”, was the first to wear “short” dresses. My father had observed a street sweeper. with her dress tucked up in the back, forming a sort of tunic over her petticoat, and, inspired by a certain grace in the fashion, had duplicated it in velvet and satin and other luxurious materials. Madame de Metternich wore the first of these models to the races, and again started tongues wagging. And thus the famous tunic dress was born.

She was the protagonist of yet another innovation, only this time it was a color and not a mode. Shortly after Sadowa, when Bismarck was the most cordially hated man in France — and none despised him more than “La Princesse” — my father had had a new shade, a sort of brown, manufactured at Lyons, and did not know what to call it. He carried his perplexity to bed with him and dreamed about it, and the next day he told his dream to Madame de Metternich.

“Last night,” he said, “I dreamt that I was showing you this material, and asked you what to call it. And you, noting the peculiar brown” — it was the color of fecal matter — “answered, ‘But, call it Bismarck".

Jean-Philippe Worth "A century of fashion"