The Villa Palazzina dei Mulini in Portoferraio, the capital of Elba, was Napoleon Bonaparte’s principal residence during his stay on the island between May 1814 and February 1815. It is now a museum in which, among period furnishings and memorabilia, one can see an oil painting depicting the death of Prince Józef Poniatowski. The painting underscores the Polish connection with the Napoleonic epic and recalls the presence of Poles on Elba who, as “the most faithful of the faithful”, accompanied the Emperor in his exile as part of his entourage.

Napoleon Bonaparte on Elba

Elba (Italian: Isola d’Elba) is Italy’s third-largest island. It lies in the Tyrrhenian Sea between the Apennine Peninsula and Corsica (Bonaparte’s birthplace), about 20 km off the coast. A short period from 3 May 1814 to 26 February 1815, when the island was ruled by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) following his forced abdication, plays a distinctive role in Elba’s complex and rich history. The supposedly independent Principality of Elba was intended to provide him with occupation and sustenance in return for renouncing his rule of France and any further political ambition. His escape from Elba marked the beginning of Napoleon’s “Hundred Days”: an attempt to regain power in France which – after initial successes – ended on 22 June 1815 with a second abdication following defeat at Waterloo and exile to St Helena, where, under British supervision, he died in 1821.

On Elba, Napoleon resided in Portoferraio, the island’s capital, and at a summer residence in San Martino. In the Portoferraio house, now a museum, we find a Polish trace: a painting portraying the death of Prince Józef Poniatowski.

Polish Themes on Elba

The painting of Prince Józef recalls Polish participation in the Napoleonic epic: the hopes it inspired and the disappointments that followed. On Elba, it should also evoke memories of the Polish Chevau-légers of the Imperial Guard, whose squadron voluntarily joined the Emperor in exile.

The core of Napoleon’s Elban military establishment comprised a French Grenadier Guards battalion of about 600 soldiers. The Poles on Elba numbered roughly 100 and served under Major Paweł Jerzmanowski (1779–1862). This “Elba squadron” earned the sobriquet “the most faithful of the faithful”. After leaving the island, it took part in all the events of the Hundred Days. Following the Emperor’s final defeat, these cavalrymen left the French army and for the most part returned to the Kingdom of Poland under Russian rule. Today, it is difficult to trace their presence or memory on the island. This is all the more reason why the painting displayed in the Palazzina dei Mulini serves as a catalyst of remembrance.

Palazzina dei Mulini

Napoleon’s principal residence on Elba is a modest building with a garden on the edge of Portoferraio. Its hilltop situation affords a distant view of the bay leading to the port. In the wider panorama, however, the building is visually dominated by the fortress guarding the town, which also appeared to watch over the Napoleonic residence.

Architecturally unassuming, the house was built in 1724 as part of the island’s complex of military structures. After Napoleon’s arrival on Elba, it was remodelled and connected to a garden facing the high seashore. The adaptation was led by the architect Paolo Bargigli (1760–after 1815); the interior decoration was executed by Antonio Vincenzo Revelliegni (1764–1835), the official painter to the Elban court.

After Napoleon’s escape, the building experienced various vicissitudes before being designated a museum in 1934. Today it forms part of the Museo Nazionale delle Residenze Napoleoniche dell’Isola d’Elba – Palazzina dei Mulini. Over time, the furnishings of the Bonaparte era have been reconstructed. The core of the collection is the library donated to the city by Napoleon. A painting of Prince Józef hangs in the dining room opposite a copy of J.-L. David’s “Napoleon Crossing the Alps”: a juxtaposition of two moments in the Napoleonic drama, the outset of the victorious Italian campaign (1796) and the end of hope at the Battle of Leipzig (1813).

The Painting “Death of Prince Józef Poniatowski”

This oil on canvas was produced in the mid-nineteenth century as a copy by an unidentified painter after a work by the French battle artist Horace Vernet (1789–1863), painted in 1816. Vernet, director of the French Academy in Rome, trained many Polish artists, including January Suchodolski and Józef Brodowski, and was godfather to Wojciech Kossak, later among the most renowned Polish painters of battle scenes.

Vernet’s compositions, which in two versions depicted the Polish hero’s death at Leipzig, helped cement the prince’s legend and were widely copied in the nineteenth century. Poniatowski’s heroism at Leipzig, his elevation by Napoleon to the dignity of Marshal of France, and his death while covering the retreat of the defeated French army furnished dramatic material for a legend encapsulating Polish participation in the Napoleonic epic. The “Battle of the Nations” at Leipzig, fought on 16–19 October 1813, proved decisive in the sequence of events leading to Napoleon’s downfall after the failure of the Russian campaign. Poniatowski served as one of the commanders and as commander-in-chief of the forces of the Duchy of Warsaw; he embodied hopes for Polish independence associated with Napoleon. The defeat at Leipzig shattered those hopes; the prince’s death in the waters of the River Elster symbolically sealed them.

Interestingly, Poniatowski’s end entered not only the Polish pantheon of national heroism but also the European iconography of the Napoleonic wars. In a Romantic spirit, he was presented as one who devoted his life to the fatherland and remained faithful to soldierly honour to the end.

Significance

The placement of the painting among Napoleonic memorabilia in a residence occupied during the waning phase of the Emperor’s career is meaningful in several respects. Although the picture could not have adorned the house during Napoleon’s stay in Portoferraio – the original dates from 1816 – it is unmistakably linked to the history of the era. From a European perspective, it recalls the battle that sealed Bonaparte’s fate and ultimately led to his presence on Elba.

From a Polish perspective, it stands as a visible sign of Poles and their service in Napoleon’s army and a symbol of sacrifices made in the hope of defeating the partitioning powers alongside the French and thus winning independence. As the national anthem puts it: “He taught us by example, Bonaparte, how we should prevail.” At the same time, it epitomises the Romantic national legend: the injunction that, if victory is impossible, one must at least preserve one’s honour for the glory of one’s name and for future generations.