The Happy Days of the Empress Marie LouiseImbert de Saint-Amand
History
The Happy Days of the Empress Marie Louise
Imbert de Saint-Amand
Marie Louise, Empress, consort of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1791-1847
There were twelve medallions--six towards Passy, six on the other side;
namely, the portrait of the Emperor, with this motto, "The happiness of
the world is in his hands" (the address of the Senate); a laurel with
many sprouts, and these words, "He has made our glory"; a roaring
leopard, with this motto, "He laughed at our discords, he weeps at
our reunion"; the monograms of Napoleon and Marie Louise, with this
inscription, "We love her through our love for him, we shall love her
for herself"; a Love placing a wreath of myrtles and roses on the helmet
of Mars, with this motto, "She will charm the hero's leisure"; the sun
and a rainbow, and these words, "She announces happy days to the world";
the Empress's portrait, and this inscription, "To her we owe the
happiness of the August spouse who has set her so high in his thoughts";
the figure of the Danube, and this line, "He enriches us with what
is most precious"; the Austrian coat-of-arms; the monogram of Their
Majesties, and the motto, "She will be a true mother to the French"; the
figure of the Seine, motto, "Our love will be grateful for the gift he
makes to us"; and last, the French coat-of-arms.
The six bas-reliefs represented the following subjects: Legislation--the
Emperor in his robes, seated upon the throne, points towards the tables
on which is inscribed the Code, while Innocence, in the form of a
young maiden, is sleeping at the foot of the Imperial throne; National
Industry--merchants presenting to the Emperor various products from
their warehouses; the Arrival of the Empress in Paris; the Decorations
of the Capital; the Emperor's Clemency--Napoleon seated, with his hand
on his sword, is crowned by Victory, while he generously pardons his
vanquished enemies; union of the Emperor and Empress--Napoleon and Marie
Louise hand-in-hand, in token of alliance, before an altar placed at the
foot of the statue of Peace.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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