An archive of primary source material relating to Joachim Murat, Marshal of France and King of Naples
A recollection of Murat at the Battle of Leipzig (October 1813): "At that moment, a polished military staff arrived from the right, at the head of which was a superb horseman wearing a toque surmounted with a great plume, dressed in a sort of Brandenbourg tunic, his beautiful horse covered with a golden-clawed tiger skin. …
Continue reading “I want to live another quarter of an hour…”
Drawing of Murat derived from a painting by Andrea Appiani in 1803. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a picture of the actual painting anywhere so far.
Madame Louise Fusil relates a brief encounter with Murat during the 1812 campaign, prior to the crossing of the Berezina River as the French army was in retreat. "The King of Naples held his horse by lash, and his hand was set on the door of my carriage. He spoke an obliging word when he …
Joachim attended to his children’s education with utmost care, since their future, despite his apparent optimism, filled him with vague apprehensions. He wanted them to have a full education, in order for them, if necessary one day, to be self-sufficient. Aside from equitation and dance, it was his wish that they learned German and English. 'I’m …
Continue reading “Joachim attended to his children’s education with utmost care…”
Sketch of Joachim Murat & his family, by Paolo Girgenti, 1815; and an embroidered painting based on the drawing. The latter was on public display for a time at the Palazzo Reale in Naples, in an exhibition on Murat near the 200th anniversary of his death. And, lastly, a detail from the above.
Two miniatures of Murat, by Jean-Baptiste Isabey.
Source: The Court and Camp of Bonaparte, issue 29 of Harper's family library. New York (J. & J. Harper), 1833. Pgs 332-333.
The following letter was written by Eugène de Beauharnais, adopted son of Napoleon (and therefore Murat’s nephew by marriage) to Murat in the days following Murat’s treaty with the Allies, as Murat continued to stall at, and agonize over, the prospect of taking up arms against his own countrymen at the Allies’ behest. Source: The Romance …
Continue reading “These conflicts which arise in your heart do not astonish me…”
The following correspondence was conducted in the wake of Murat’s defection to the Allies in 1814, as Napoleon attempted to bring his errant brother-in-law back into the fold before it was too late. It is worth noting that Joseph Bonaparte declines, in his letter to Murat, to “point out to him the iniquity of his …
Miniature portrait of Joachim & Caroline Murat. Artist and date unknown.
Project Murat 