(19 Jun 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris – 19 June 2025
1. Tracking shot of iconic Napoleon imagery revisited by artist Jean-Charles de Castelbajac for Sotheby’s auction house
2. View from above of main exhibition room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, artist and designer of exhibition scenography:
++STARTS ON SHOT 2, PARTIALLY OVERLAID BY SHOTS 4 – 10++
"I want to show a line to the young generation, that can be exemplary. When Sotheby’s has called me to do this installation, I have seen it as like a pop culture installation as something that can speak to young generation, not just to historical passionate of history because today collectors who buy Napoleon artefacts can buy a guitar from Jimi Hendrix, you know, they like to constitute like a cabinet of curiosity and history is the best book to inspire, so it’s quite fascinating. So welcome into Napoleon saga."
4. Art by Castelbajac with cut out face of Napoleon
5. Close-up of Napoleon imagery
6. Fork owned by Napoleon revisited by Castelbajac
7. Objects on display
8. Castelbajac touring exhibition and entering darker room with Emperor’s bed and hat
9. Various of objects on display
10. Mid of bust
11. Louis-Xavier Joseph, Senior Director, Head of Department for furniture & decorative arts, walking through exhibition
12. SOUNDBITE (French) Louis-Xavier Joseph, Senior Director, Head of Department for furniture & decorative arts:
++STARTS ON SHOT 11, PARTIALLY OVERLAID BY SHOTS 13 – 18++
"But Napoleon is still a character that children love. As soon as you’re a child, whether you’re French or foreign, you’re told about the story of Napoleon. And moreover, this image of Napoleon on his rearing horse, with his red cape, is like a kind of superhero, you see? Or a kind of Zorro. And that’s also what fascinates from childhood. It’s, once again, this power, this authority, this speed, this acceleration."
13. Napoleon seal
14. Hat on display
15. Various of Napoleon imagery
16. Embroidered ‘N’ on red velvet throne
17. Giant cut-out reproduction of hat
18. Various exteriors of Sotheby’s Paris auction house
STORYLINE:
Sotheby’s Paris is staging one of the most complete and high-profile Napoleon auctions in years — over 100 objects from the personal collection of French collector Pierre-Jean Chalençon.
Chalençon has been building this trove for four decades, and it includes everything from an imperial throne and swords to handwritten codicils from Saint Helena, campaign beds, and even Joséphine’s dressing table.
The auction explores how Napoleon remains a cultural lightning rod: part military genius, part romantic anti-hero, part global brand.
It is expected to fetch at least 7 million Euros and includes a bicorne hat, Napoleon’s seal, his bed, and even a sleeve stained by sauce that his tailor kept as a relic.
Sotheby’s asked Jean Charles Castelbajac, a well-known French artist and fashion designer to create the scenography for the exhibition.
It’s not just a display — he’s made it immersive, theatrical, with fog and sound design and bold visual choices in what could be deemed a folkloric Napoleon reimagined for the TikTok age.
AP Video shot by Alexander Turnbull
Production by Jeff Schaeffer
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/aaddbdd4baf14397b7ae00333a1fd808
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in June 24, 2025, 9:05 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
