History

Plunder: Napoleon's Theft of Veronese's Feast

Plunder: Napoleon's Theft of Veronese's Feast

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  • Create Date：2021-05-02 11:31:04
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Cynthia Saltzman
  • ISBN：0374219036
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Summary

"A highly original work of history 。 。 。 [Saltzman] has written a distinctive study that transcends both art and history and forces us to explore the connections between the two。” —Roger Lowenstein， The Wall Street Journal

A captivatingstudy of Napoleon’s plundering of Europe’s art for the Louvre， told through the story of a Renaissance masterpiece seized from Venice

Cynthia Saltzman’s Plunder recounts the fate of Paolo Veronese’s Wedding Feast at Cana， a vast， sublime canvas that the French， under the command of the young Napoleon Bonaparte， tore from a wall of the monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore， on an island in Venice， in 1797。 Painted in 1563 during the Renaissance， the picture was immediately hailed as a masterpiece。 Veronese had filled the scene with some 130 figures， lavishing color on the canvas to build the illusion that the viewers’ space opened onto a biblical banquet taking place on a terrace in sixteenth-century Venice。 Once pulled from the wall， the Venetian canvas crossed the Mediterranean rolled on a cylinder; soon after， artworks commandeered from Venice and Rome were triumphantly brought into Paris。 In 1801， the Veronese went on exhibition at the Louvre， the new public art museum founded during the Revolution in the former palace of the French kings。

As Saltzman tells the larger story of Napoleon’s looting of Italian art and its role in the creation of the Louvre， she reveals the contradictions of his character: his thirst for greatness—to carry forward the finest aspects of civilization—and his ruthlessness in getting whatever he sought。 After Napoleon’s 1815 defeat at Waterloo， the Duke of Wellington and the Allies forced the French to return many of the Louvre’s plundered paintings and sculptures。 Nevertheless， The Wedding Feast at Cana remains in Paris to this day， hanging directly across from the Mona Lisa。

Expertly researched and deftly told， Plunder chronicles one of the most spectacular art appropriation campaigns in history， one that sheds light on a seminal historical figure and the complex origins of one of the great museums of the world。

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Reviews

Amelia ，

Sadly I only made it through a couple of chapters。 I was debating on whether it was fair to give feedback based on such a small part， but I think the main problem for me is that the book feels like it's trying to be too many things at once: a history of Bonaparte's early career， a history of Venice， a history of art， to name a few。 It's very well-written， hence the 3 star rating， but I would prefer less detail on some of the subjects and a tighter overall narrative。 Although this is just persona Sadly I only made it through a couple of chapters。 I was debating on whether it was fair to give feedback based on such a small part， but I think the main problem for me is that the book feels like it's trying to be too many things at once: a history of Bonaparte's early career， a history of Venice， a history of art， to name a few。 It's very well-written， hence the 3 star rating， but I would prefer less detail on some of the subjects and a tighter overall narrative。 Although this is just personal preference I still thought it could be helpful for someone who is wondering about picking up the book。 I'm really grateful to the publishers and Netgalley for giving me an advance review copy， and it's a book I might try again in the future。 。。。more

Jessica ，

*I was sent a copy of this book via the publisher in exchange for an honest review*This book looks at the art that Napoleon and the French took from countries they defeated during the Napoleonic Wars to furnish the Louvre specifically through one particular painting， Paolo Veronese's Wedding Feast at Cana。 Despite the return of the stolen artworks during Napoleon's reign Wedding Feast at Cana is still in the Louvre today and is in fact displayed on the wall opposite Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa *I was sent a copy of this book via the publisher in exchange for an honest review*This book looks at the art that Napoleon and the French took from countries they defeated during the Napoleonic Wars to furnish the Louvre specifically through one particular painting， Paolo Veronese's Wedding Feast at Cana。 Despite the return of the stolen artworks during Napoleon's reign Wedding Feast at Cana is still in the Louvre today and is in fact displayed on the wall opposite Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa。 Cynthia Saltzman strikes a good balance of looking at the art taken by Napoleon on his military campaigns as well as the campaigns themselves。 I don't think you really need to have a great understanding of European art history or of Napoleon to pick this up with Saltzman's informative yet easily digestible writing style。 I found the parts that Saltzman discusses the way that Wedding Feast at Cana was moved from Italy to France and then the various restoration works done on it since to be particularly interesting。One thing that I was hoping would be talked about in this book and wasn't really deeply discussed was the idea of art repatriation， or the returning of stolen art or art acquired under questionable circumstances to their place of origins。 Cynthia Satlzman does discuss that the artwork stolen by Napoleon were returned after the Napoleonic Wars， but I do wish she discussed that this is still something that museums are still doing into the modern day。 Especially when it comes to the acquisition of art during colonialism。 It doesn't need to become the focus of the book or anything but I thought it would have been a beneficial thing to discuss in the epilogue just to show that the returning of stolen art wasn't something that was only done at the end of the Napoleonic Wars。If you are interested in either art history or a less discussed aspect of Napoleon's reign I would definitely recommend Cynthia Saltzman's Plunder: Napoleon's Theft of Veronese's Feast。 。。。more

Meaghan ，

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy。Plunder is a great mixture of different histories。 The history of The Wedding Feast at Cana， the history of Napoleon's campaigns， rule， and fall， the history of the Louvre， and art history all rolled into one。 A fascinating read that exposes how the Louvre became one of the best and well-known art museums as a result of war plunder and yet celebrates how making the plundered art accessible to the public fueled the art movements of the nineteenth and t Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy。Plunder is a great mixture of different histories。 The history of The Wedding Feast at Cana， the history of Napoleon's campaigns， rule， and fall， the history of the Louvre， and art history all rolled into one。 A fascinating read that exposes how the Louvre became one of the best and well-known art museums as a result of war plunder and yet celebrates how making the plundered art accessible to the public fueled the art movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries。 This is a great book and I definitely recommend it to history lovers and art lovers。 。。。more

David ，

I read my free electronic galley copy of this book well in advance of the planned May 2021 publication date。 As of this writing， no one has posted a photo of the book's subject， The Wedding at Cana by Veronese， on this Goodreads page。 Here it is:I got this photo from the website of the Louvre， where the painting hangs。I come at this book as a history nerd， not an art nerd。 However， I love to read about the intersection of art and politics。 If you do too， I think you will enjoy this book。 However I read my free electronic galley copy of this book well in advance of the planned May 2021 publication date。 As of this writing， no one has posted a photo of the book's subject， The Wedding at Cana by Veronese， on this Goodreads page。 Here it is:I got this photo from the website of the Louvre， where the painting hangs。I come at this book as a history nerd， not an art nerd。 However， I love to read about the intersection of art and politics。 If you do too， I think you will enjoy this book。 However， if your art education is limited， as mine is， you might have to show a little patience in Chapter 3。 It is about how the subject painting got painted， and the specialized vocabulary comes a little hot and heavy。 Sometimes explanations abut first usage （Kindle location 625: “… gesso – a white substance made of gypsum （calcium sulfate） mixed with binders of animal glue …。”）， but in other places （e。g。， location 644） terms like azurite and smalt defeated the dictionary residing inside my Kindle。 Ditto for orpiment and realgar （location 673）。I am the type of reader who has to go to another device to check， but if you are less tightly wound than I am， you may just shrug and guess from context， probably correctly。Similarly， when a particular painting is mention， I usually felt the need to quit the recumbent and take a look for myself。 The ideal version of this book in the ideal version of this world would have beautifully-detailed reproductions included at the ready for examination （and yet， somehow， still not be outrageously expensive）， but the free advance galley on my old-school black-and-white Kindle doesn't exist in that world。 I must remind myself， someday after May 2021， to stop at one of the few remaining quality bookstores left standing and see if the paper copy of this book includes this feature。Anyway， after Chapter 3， this book is about the twists and turns of fate that got the painting removed from the dining hall of an island monastery in Venice and hung in its current residence at the Louvre。 The history nerd in me enjoyed the bureaucratic and political machinations which carried out Napoleon's plans to bring this work of art to Paris， and then allowed it to stay there after Napoleon fell from power， even after many other great works of art were returned to their native countries。Irony （I）: one of the British diplomats who advocated the return of Napoleon's looted art was William Richard Hamilton， who at another time was private secretary to the Earl of Elgin， of “Elgin Marbles” fame。The painting had to come down from its perch in the Louvre on occasions when those pesky Germans were in an aggressive mood。 The book makes clear that these travels and secret storages were not at all good for this now old and fragile work of art。 Some seriously talented art restorers must have laid hands on it when it returned because， from all indications， it is still looking pretty good。Irony （II）: Today， the painting often looks out on a crowded sea of uninterested backs， because it faces Mona Lisa。 I am ashamed to say that my memory from my long-ago trip to this room of the Louvre was of the backs of a sea of people snapping away at Mona Lisa with their pre-smartphone-era cameras， but I have no memory of The Wedding at Cana。I hope I get to look at The Wedding at Cana with fresh eyes， some fine post-pandemic day， knowing what I know now， from this interesting book。I wanted to post a second photo of The Wedding at Cana hanging at the Louvre。 I thought the photo was really clever and enjoyable， but it is a stock photo for sale。 I thought the owners of the rights might get all stroppy if I took a screenshot and reposted without surrendering the toll。 The photo is delightful because it is of a modern-day crowd in the Louvre in front of the painting， photographed so it looks like the busy mob of guests formerly trapped in the painting has somehow bled through the fourth wall， assumed modern dress， and joined the spectators。 See this image here。I received a free electronic galley copy of this book from Farrar， Straus and Giroux via Netgalley。 Thanks to all。 。。。more

Vanessa ，

This book is incredibly interesting。 The author takes on the subject of a particular painting， but also delves into the history of the time when this was acquired by Napoleon's army。 It does not go into too much detail。 I think she found the correct balance because if you do want more detail， you can read a book about Napoleon and his wars or about Veronese and his art。Napoleon demanded artwork as part of the treaties he signed with conquered nations （Italy was mostly city states at the time， bu This book is incredibly interesting。 The author takes on the subject of a particular painting， but also delves into the history of the time when this was acquired by Napoleon's army。 It does not go into too much detail。 I think she found the correct balance because if you do want more detail， you can read a book about Napoleon and his wars or about Veronese and his art。Napoleon demanded artwork as part of the treaties he signed with conquered nations （Italy was mostly city states at the time， but you get the idea）。 This particular painting was affixed to a wall where it had originally been painted in a church in Venice。 In order to move it， the painting was subjected to damage。 This painting is still part of the Louvre collections today。 Was that a spoiler？ I think if you can look it up on the internet， it shouldn't count。If you like art and history， I definitely recommend it。 I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Tawney ，

I received this book compliments of Farrar， Strauss and Giroux via NetGalley。Standing before The Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Veronese a person might wonder how it came to be in the Louvre。 Or the nuts and bolts of how such a large painting could be moved。 As background Cynthia Saltzman describes the importance of art and artists in 16th century Venice， including an overview of Veronese's work there。 She recounts the contract and execution of The Wedding Feast at Cana， created for a specific w I received this book compliments of Farrar， Strauss and Giroux via NetGalley。Standing before The Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Veronese a person might wonder how it came to be in the Louvre。 Or the nuts and bolts of how such a large painting could be moved。 As background Cynthia Saltzman describes the importance of art and artists in 16th century Venice， including an overview of Veronese's work there。 She recounts the contract and execution of The Wedding Feast at Cana， created for a specific wall in the refectory of San Giorgio Maggiore in 1563。 Two hundred years later Napoleon Bonaparte began a military campaign in northern Italy。 The French Directorate included orders to seize paintings and sculptures there and send them back to France。 Venice had declared itself neutral， but we know how that goes and， despite its size （32' by 22'） Cana was selected。 With all the other art it was eventually transported to Paris， where the galleries at the Louvre gained popularity and stature with the additional displays。Napoleon， of course， continued on both politically and militarily until his reign collapsed。 Then much of the art was returned， but not Cana。 Saltzman brings the painting's story up to the present， completing a well told history。。 The book is a very interesting read， with extensive notes and bibliography。 。。。more

Reference

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