263 - Francesco ANTOMMARCHI (1780–1838)

Francesco ANTOMMARCHI (1780–1838) Death mask of Napoleon I (1833). Plaster. Signed: “D F ANTOMMARCHI” (on the right side, in a cartouche). On a medal-shaped seal at the base of the neck, above the left profile of Napoleon wearing a laurel wreath: “NAPOLEON EMP ET ROI”; below: “SOUSCRIPTION/ D'ANTOMMARCHI 1833”. Label at the top of the skull: partially erased autograph signature of “Dr. F. Antommarchi.” H. 34 x W. 13 cm. History Napoleon’s death mask, due to its historical significance and emotional weight, continues to hold a powerful fascination. The circumstances of its creation and the search for the original cast are among the mysteries surrounding the Emperor’s death. Indeed, the large number of witnesses to the event, as well as the sometimes contradictory accounts, have helped to perpetuate the enigma surrounding the creation of this object. However, a comparison of the sources reveals certain solid facts regarding the circumstances of its creation and its fate. On May 5, 1821, at 5:49 p.m., the Emperor passed away. His body was then entrusted to Dr. Archibald Arnott (1771–1855) by Hudson Lowe (1769–1844), governor of Saint Helena. At the request of Countess Bertrand (1785–1836), it was decided to make a cast of his face, but the process required plaster. Attempts by Francesco Antommarchi, the Emperor’s personal physician since 1819, to make plaster from statuettes failed. The English physician Francis Burton (1784–1828), who was familiar with the region, obtained permission from the governor and traveled to a small islet near Saint George Island, where he knew there was a gypsum deposit. There, he extracted enough gypsum to make the plaster needed for a complete cast of the head. On May 7 at 4:00 p.m., Burton and Antommarchi made the cast. It was then transported to England, apparently by Antommarchi. Dr. Burton found himself deprived of the cast of the sovereign’s face and retained, as far as is known, only the back of the skull. Believing he had been wronged, he filed a lawsuit against Antommarchi, claiming authorship and ownership of the cast in his possession. By cross-referencing the various accounts, it appears that Antommarchi had a cast—most certainly the original—in his possession when he left Saint Helena. This was likely the copy that Countess Bertrand intended for Madame Mère, who never received her son’s mask. Furthermore, the lawsuit for restitution filed by Burton reinforces the hypothesis that his colleague possessed the cast from Saint Helena. The sculptor David d’Angers also confirms that Antommarchi kept a copy at his home that was presented as the original: “This morning, I went with Lady Morgan to see the Emperor’s mask that Antommarchi cast on Saint Helena. It would be impossible for me to convey the full effect that this piece of plaster had on me—a fragment of a statue as vast as the span of human life on earth… This world, now extinguished, from which rays emanate—rays similar to those of the moon, which inspire melancholy ideas and often noble thoughts, but which will never inspire the sons of liberty, because they receive such inspiration only in broad daylight. This mask is enclosed in a small velvet-lined box that Antommarchi displays in his apartment on Rue de Rivoli. […] I bid farewell to this piece of plaster with as much heartache as the last man will feel when the world comes to an end.” This mask, passed down to his grandnephew Édouard Azémar (1884–1966), is the one now held in the Malmaison collections under the name Antommarchi-Azémar. Textual sources, as well as stylistic and scientific analyses, suggest that this is the earliest known cast. Burton’s death in 1828 put an end to the legal disputes and allowed Antommarchi to launch a national fundraising campaign for the reproduction. The press then reported on the existence of the original mask: “Dr. Antommarchi has just brought back from London the original and unique plaster mask, which he himself cast on St. Helena from Napoleon’s face moments after his death. ” In August 1833, the fundraising campaign for bronze and plaster models was announced in the press and presented in a three-page prospectus. It was organized by a ten-member committee comprising close associates of the Emperor: Marshal Clausel (chairman), General Bertrand, the Duke of Padua, General Count de Flahaut, the Prince of Moskova, the Duke of Elchingen, Baron de Méneval, Gaëtan Murat, as well as the ge