Library

To satisfy his immediate need for display, Napoleon had alterations undertaken at the former royal palaces plundered by the revolutionaries, and this work was entrusted mainly to Percier and Fontaine. The main influence was Imperial Rome whose successor Napoleonic France claimed to be.

The work for furnishings of Château Malmaison, acquired for Napoleon’s wife, Josephine, was carried out by Jean-Baptiste Lep�re (1761-1844) to designs by Percier and Fontaine and completed in 1803. Displaying classical architectural forms, strong contrasting colours, mahogany paneling highlighted with gilt bronze appliqu�s, and ceiling paintings in imitation of Pompeii and Herculaneum, the interiors exude luxury. This is particularly evident in the tripartite former library.