Pierre-Paul PRUD’HON - Manuscrit autographe signé « Prud’hon pinxit » [Mariage Napoléon Ier et Impératrice Marie-Louise] - 1809

PRUD’HON, Pierre-Paul (1758-1823)

Autographed manuscript signed 'Prud’hon pinxit'.
Detailed description of the toilet presented to Her Majesty Empress Marie-Louise by the City of Paris.
[Paris, n.d]
4to (22.8 × 18 cm), 3 pages written in brown ink on laid paper.

Traces of folds and a few browning stains without severity, paper very well preserved.
Provenance: private collection.

Rare autograph manuscript by Pierre-Paul Prud’hon, dedicated to the iconographic program of the Toilette offered to Empress Marie-Louise by the City of Paris on the occasion of her marriage to Napoleon I in 1810.
This text, divided into sections (The Psyche or the Screen – The Table, the Mirror and the Chests – The Torches – The Perfume – The Athenian Women), meticulously describes the decorative allegory conceived by Prud’hon: emblems of Happiness, Fidelity, Mars and Minerva, geniuses of Arts and Poetry, winged loves, flowers and trophies symbolizing imperial union.

A text of major historical and artistic interest, revealing the painter's allegorical thinking and his role in the decorative arts of the First Empire. This program was executed by Thomire, Biennais, and Jacob-Desmalter; several elements of the Toilette are now preserved at the Louvre and the Mobilier national.

A key piece for the documentation of imperial decorative arts; Prud’hon’s autographs of this importance are extremely rare in private hands.

Full transcription

Brief description
The toilet given to Her Majesty the Empress
Marie-Louise
by the City of Paris


The Psyche or the Screen.

On the ship of Isis, emblem of the City of Paris, rises the altar of Hymen, adorned with garlands of flowers; the torch of this god shines in all four corners. Tenderness and fidelity, marked by doves, form its base, and the center features two united butterflies, symbolizing the harmony of souls that brings happiness to life. It bears a column that begins as a bundle of laurels and ends in a wreath that tightly links it to itself, seemingly indicating that numerous victories have led to the union of Their Majesties and the fruits they promise to France are represented by those overflowing from the basket that forms the capital. The crown of this screen presents the god Mars and a young Minerva whom Hymen unites. Two loves, one caressing the Eagle of France and the other, connected by a chain of flowers, leading the one of Austria, seem to wish to bring them closer.

The Table, the Mirror, and the Bathroom Cabinets

Seated and leaning on flowers, a young Flora, image of Her Majesty the Empress, receives the homage of various geniuses who crowd around her. The one who holds hearts under his power presents her with those of faithful subjects whom harmony gathers and a common sentiment unites. Zephyr, who with his gentle breath slightly opens the calyxes of flowers, symbols of pleasures, offers her what is most brilliant among them; Taste arranges the most precious metals to adorn her person; Industry and Commerce also strive to please her through the means at their disposal. Beneath the mirror, Pleasure, who has woven the garland of flowers on which they all rest, tightly knots the ends together to form an endless circle.
From the upper part, two flowering candelabra support the mirror; ( ?) the geniuses of Poetry, Arts, and Sciences; they burn with the desire to reach the feet of the one whose enlightened taste will allow them to find the most glorious prize among the fruits of their imagination.
Groups of little loves, scattered on the toilet chests, are busy with some weaving or unwinding the gold or silk threads of His Majesty's days, while others cultivate the flower or gather the fruit to which they have given their care.

Les Flambeaux

Loves do not go without graces. Those that are personal to His Majesty are like a flowerbed encrusted with flowers, where pure love always finds something to gather. Those that stem from his beneficence are a fertile source that spreads happiness in the places he waters.

The armchair

Faint embellishment of celestial gifts chains and fixes love near His Majesty.

The Athenians

In the one intended for washing hands, there are symbols related to water; and on the ( ? ), there is a bas-relief depicting the Seine lying on its urn and in gentle repose; in the clear waters that carry commercial abundance to its shores, love baths and Zephyrs come to quench their thirst.

In the other Athénienne intended for perfumes, the vase depicts Beauty receiving religious homage from a troupe of loves, some of whom are preparing a feast for her and others burning perfumes before her.

Prud’hon painted this.