Eugénie as Empress

Posts in this section include:

Lexi Brunskill, Eugénie's role as Regent
Cara Levesley, Eugénie's social role and charity work
Joel Wallace, Eugénie as 'The Spanish Woman'
Sophie McGuire, Eugénie's role in art and fashion

Eugénie's role as Regent

by Lexi Brunskill

Pierre-Désiré Guillemet, La Victoire apportant au Conseil de Régence la nouvelle de la bataille gagnée à Magenta (1859) (c) RMN-Grand Palais

The portrait ‘Victory bringing news of the battle won at Magenta to the Regency Council' (1859) is an official portrait which was used to celebrate the victory of the battle at Magenta on July 4th 1859. However, this portrait is also a very prominent depiction of Empress Eugénie within France,as well as internationally, in terms of her political status and image as a regent. A significant way her power can be seen in this portrait is by the central focus of the painting, she can be seen wearing an elegant white dress along with jewels, pearls, and a tiara; this draws attention to her as it directly contrasts with the other regency council members. They can be seen in the portrait wearing much darker clothing and surrounding the edges of the painting while Eugénie is on a podium in the centre of the portrait which shows her importance. Sitting on her lap is the Prince Imperial, who is smiling as he points to an angel bringing news of the battle victory. This shows Eugénie to be a motherly figure despite her role in power. This can also been seen to be significant as it directly reflects her mannerisms,particularly during wartime, as she transformed her home into a field hospital, which clearly shows her maternal idiosyncrasy. Next to Eugénie is a chair,which represents her husband's place as head of the council, but instead there is a crown and scepter; this shows how, while her husband is in absence fighting in the battle, she assumes the role of head of council. It may be argued that the main message in the portrait is primarily to show the Empress as a mother figure, whose role is to raise the Prince Imperial, which reflects the societal norms of this era. Secondly, the portrait would represent her temporary role as regency leader while her husband (Napoleon III) fought in war.

‘Her Majesty the Empress Regent in the midst of the Privy Council and the Council of Ministers.’ This portrait is a very prominent depiction of Empress Eugénie assuming her role as regent. Here, she can be seen as the focal point of the portrait attending a privy council meeting, which created the image surrounding her as the most powerful woman in Europe in view of the fact that it was unheard of for a female ruler to attend these meetings. This portrait is an amazing representation of her regency in a variety of ways. The first being her involvement in official decision making, and another showing the level of respect people had for her, trusting her to make these important decisions; this can be seen in newspaper reports from the time: "Each of these ministerial meetings, which are held in the salle des conseils, is presided over by the Empress regent, who displays the same grace and intelligence in her position that she has hitherto shown in all those which her high station has called her" (1). This shows the degree of respect in which other council members have for her and her ability to adapt to what she must do to accommodate her role as Empress. Another thing shown by this quote is her continuous efforts to take on roles required from her, as well as a level of integrity that is shown by her efforts.

A final topic is her intellectual characteristics, Eugénie was very socially and politically aware, especially in terms of warfare, in which her country was taking part in. This can be seen in the a letter she sent to Napoleon III where she said ‘ the old 1813 mentality is re-emerging and no amount of reassurances on your part is going to satisfy Prussia’ (2). This shows that she is observant in past and present tensions internationally, which would have increased her popularity and support within her regency. Overall, all of these qualities which Eugénie embodied helped her to gain the title of most powerful woman in Europe, as well as gaining support as a leader and monarch. These characteristics are a key point of why Empress Eugénie was such a popular ruler, both in her time as regent, but also the years following up until her death.

Charles Maurand, Sa majesté L'Impératrice Régente au Milieu du Conseil Privé et du Conseil de Ministres (1870), Paris Musées

(1) Illustrated London News, 11 June 1859. As quoted in Desmond Seward, Eugénie: The Empress and her Empire (2004), p. 121.

(2) As quoted in Seward, p. 122.

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Bal costumé au palais des Tuileries, 1867 (c) RMN-Grand Palais

Eugénie's social role & charity work

by Cara Levesley

Focusing on Empress Eugénie's charity and social role, the first source is a portrait of a costume ball in Tuileries Palace in Paris France. This shows how the Empress fulfilled her charitable role through attending events for the public,showing how she is willing to socialise with them instead of distance herself due to her social status.

The second source is a silver medal which commemorates the visits of Emperor Napoleon III and the Empress Eugénie to hospitals during the cholera epidemic of 1865. The coin shows how the Emperor and Empress value the health of their subjects and that they care about the treatment that they receive,choosing to interact with the sick patients. Additionally, the next source was a copper medal which was also developed in commemoration for the Empress’s efforts in charity, in particular the Society for the Protection of Children Employed in Manufacturing in France in 1867. These sources demonstrate the lengths that Empress Eugénie went to in order to be more involved in the lives of her subjects and to help her to embrace her social role.

Copper medal, designed by A. Bovy, after J. Peyre, and A. Dubois, commemorating Society for the Protection of Children Employed in Manufacturing, French, 1867 (c) Science Museum Group

Silver medal to commemorate the visits of the Emperor Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenie to hospitals during an epidemic, by Laurent and Borrel, France, 1865 (c) Science Museum Group

Eugénie's social actions also involved promoting the feminist movement in France.This included supporting Julie Victoire Daubie who was the first female teacher to take the french Baccalaureate exam and also supported the reforms of Victor Durvy in favour of education for girls which is a legacy to french society to this day. Of her 1,200,000 francs a year, given by the Emperor,100,000 went towards her wardrobe however,the rest went towards pensions,gifts and especially charity. Eugénie often gifted large sums (usually anonymously) for relief agencies and homes around France. Among the agencies were hospitals such as a hospital for scrofulous children at Berck-Sur-Mer, a relief scheme for sailors in Dieppe and homes for children in Calais and Epernay. Eugénie also helped to found hospitals for terminally ill girls and sick boys and developed a scheme to provide foster parents (1).

Overall, it is clear that Eugénie was inspiring in maintaining her charitable and social role,illustrating how important it was for people to look out for one another,as she continued to make personal visits throughout her reign to sick patients in hospitals,even during contagious epidemics. We can learn a lot from Eugénie's attitude towards her subjects.It really conveys how an individual’s actions can speak louder than their words.

(1) Seward, Desmond, Eugénie: The Empress and her Empire (2004)

Eugénie as 'The Spanish Woman'

by Joel Wallace

'La Vache Espagnole' is a less-than flattering painting of Empress Eugénie, which may seem overly satirical. However, the portrait sheds light on some of the reasons as to why the French people resented her and is a useful historical source.

'La V...Espagnole'. Satirical illustration by Alfred le Petit depicting the French Empress Eugénie as a cow, tossing her family in the air. Hand-coloured lithograph, France, 1870-1871. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

It will come as no surprise to read that Eugénie was unpopular among the French, and one reason for this is displayed in the title of the piece, the reference to her being Spanish. Eugénie was born in Granada in 1826 to a Spanish Duke, Don Cipriano. The French people never accepted Napoleon's decision to marry a woman not of royal blood, especially one who did not even have French blood. It can be seen in the portrait that Eugénie has an empirical ‘E’ branded on her side, symbolizing how the popular sentiment was that she was ‘made’ an empress rather than born one. This was a particular grievance during her periods as regent in 1859, 1865 and 1870, where some aristocrats resented a non-French empress holding counsel over the empire. Counts such as Cowley also resented how Eugénie enjoyed the position of regent, which can be attributed to sexist attitudes widely held at the time since her counsels were in fact just as regular and important as those of Napoleon III himself.

Overall, 'La Vache Espagnole' is an interesting insight into the popular resentment the French held against Empress Eugénie. Through its caricature of Eugénie, we can see some of the key reasons why she was never accepted, such as the branding of an ‘E’ on her side representing her societal position before marrying Napoleon, and her perceived control over Napoleon himself evident in the portrayal of their relationship in the piece.

Eugénie's role in art and fashion

By Sophie McGuire

Empress Eugénie was a massively influential figure in shaping the cultural scene of her period, as Empress she knew her position could be scrutinised by the new age of mass media, this could be what perhaps encouraged her to express herself with her tasteful and often unique style that she would express through interior design and fashion.It became known she valued people's perception of her fashion, and she became branded by Punch Magazine as the ‘Queen of Fashion’.

Eugénie displayed an interest in the Ancien Règime, her looks often deriving from the elaborate and decadent styles of Marie Antoinette, with her own personal twist. A figure whom Eugénie admired greatly, the nostalgia for the days before the revolution were already widespread in high culture, and with Eugénie's influence there was a revival of 18th century furniture and fashion. The echoes of Marie-Antionette’s influence is characterised in Eugénie's personal furnishing of her apartments at the Hotel du palais, also known as the Empress Eugénie's Hotel. Being a decorator was her passion, such an interest embodied in the Design for the Coffered Ceiling, drawn up by Jules-Edmond-Charles Lachaise and Eugène-Pierre Gourdet, where she tested four different colour schemes, sporting vibrant, expensive and indulgent pigments of blue and gold with reliefs of figures in a series of recessed panels, this design would have made the room feel larger. Her drawing room in particular had a unique design, with leafy green friezes, with green backgrounds (a colour also mirrored in her designing of Farnborough Hill’s apartments) and murals of woodpeckers and vibrant parrots and mirrors to radiate light.

The Louvre, a hotspot for French culture, was designed with the oversight of Eugénie's creative eye. In the portrait of Visconti presenting the project for the completion of the Louvre, 1865, Eugénie appears immersed in the plans. The visual light of the portrait sheds focus upon her, she stands out in her signature lilac-blue dye and decadent petticoat set upon the backdrop of the grandeur of her palace Eugénie takes on a humble stance associated with imagination.

Visconti présente le projet d'achèvement du Louvre à Napoléon III et Eugénie, 1853 (c) RMN-Grand Palais

Her petticoats as seen in portraits became a trademarked aspect of her style, branding it the ‘Eugénie Petticoat’. In her time in France she grew close to the designer Charles Frederick Worth, one of the first popularised male designers, playing an important role as his muse in the invention of haute couture, while also giving status to the now big name of Louis Vuitton.

Over her life Eugenie impacted art and fashion so immensely that her legacy can still be seen today, in her old residencies like Farnborough Hill and in big names like Vuitton and Worth.

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