Nexo Digital - Napoleon In the Name of Art (2021)

After Jesus Christ, Napoleon is the most famous man in history. The documentary tells how Bonaparte's passion - sometimes Bonaparte's obsession - for art and knowledge, has changed the face of modern culture from the birth of schools, libraries and public museums (including Brera and the Louvre) to foundation of Egyptology thanks to the Egyptian campaign, from the extraordinary archaeological discoveries to the looting of works of art, up to the paintings and sculptures dedicated to him. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) appreciated the value of art from a young age, and was fascinated by its beauty. He always combined his plans for the military conquest of whole areas of the world with the acquisition, study, conservation and systematisation of art. He brought works of art from all over the world to France in the conviction that art and culture should be accessible to all. To mark the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's death, this documentary explores the complex relationship between Napoleon, culture and art. It is about the language he used to build a new imperial iconography and a new architectural style, in a reconstruction that will also allow us to reflect on the relationship between power and image mediated by art, as well as look at the regimes of the twentieth century and the world today. We will enter the mind of Napoleon and his literary predilections, his psychology, his immoderate passion for self-affirmation, which so much inspired men of power, intellectuals, dictators over the following centuries. A unique tour from Brera Academy in Milan to the Louvre in Paris in the company of the best art historian experts and Jeremy Irons who passes his fascination to the viewers.

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