Horace de Viel-Castel
Encyclopedia
Marc-Roch-Horace de Salviac, Baron de Viel-Castel, known as Horace de Viel-Castel (16 August 1802 Paris
–1 October 1864) , was an art lover and collector, and director of the Louvre
until 1863. A Bonapartist, he staunchly supported Napoleon III. He was an intimate of Princess Mathilde
and of Alfred de Musset
, the right arm of Nieuwerkerke
until his disgrace on 12 March 1863.
His memoires, which covered the time from 1851 until his death in 1864, testify to the society of the Second Empire
. Although rich in detail on history, plans, and policy, it is his prickly and malicious style which granted the author a dark posterity after their publication twenty years after his death: he was a misanthrope, and a reactionary. His favorite targets were Leon de Laborde, Prince Napoleon and Victor Hugo
. Also notable was his anglophobia.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
–1 October 1864) , was an art lover and collector, and director of the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
until 1863. A Bonapartist, he staunchly supported Napoleon III. He was an intimate of Princess Mathilde
Mathilde Bonaparte
Mathilde Laetitia Wilhelmine Bonaparte, Princesse Française , was a French princess and Salon holder. She was a daughter of Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte and his second wife, Catharina of Württemberg, daughter of King Frederick I of Württemberg.- Biography :Born in Trieste, Mathilde Bonaparte...
and of Alfred de Musset
Alfred de Musset
Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.Along with his poetry, he is known for writing La Confession d'un enfant du siècle from 1836.-Biography:Musset was born on 11 December 1810 in Paris...
, the right arm of Nieuwerkerke
Émilien de Nieuwerkerke
Count Alfred Émilien O'Hara van Nieuwerkerke was a French sculptor of Dutch descent and a high-level civil servant in the Second French Empire...
until his disgrace on 12 March 1863.
His memoires, which covered the time from 1851 until his death in 1864, testify to the society of the Second Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
. Although rich in detail on history, plans, and policy, it is his prickly and malicious style which granted the author a dark posterity after their publication twenty years after his death: he was a misanthrope, and a reactionary. His favorite targets were Leon de Laborde, Prince Napoleon and Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
. Also notable was his anglophobia.
Quotations
- "France has never been republican because it is the kingdom of vanity"
- "The Emperor looks at the world as a chess-board on which he plays his part; it little matters to him whether his adversary is overpowered by a knight or a pawn, as long as he is conquered."
Works
- Collection des costumes, armes et meubles pour servir à l'histoire de la France, depuis le commencement du Ve siècle jusqu'à nos jours, dédié au roi Charles X, 1827-1835 (Collection of the costumes, weapons and pieces of furniture to be used for French history, from the beginning of the fifth century until our days, dedicated to King Charles XCharles X of FranceCharles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
) - Des sentiments de justice et d'humanité de l'Angleterre dans la question indienne, published anonymously, 1857. (Of the feelings of justice and humanity of England in the Indian question)
- Marie-Antoinette et la Révolution française, 1859 (Marie-Antoinette and the French Revolution)
- Le Pape et Jérusalem, published anonymously, 1861 (The Pope and Jerusalem)
- Mémoires du comte Horace de Viel-Castel sur le règne de Napoléon III (1851-1864), 1883–1884, published posthumously, 1884 (Memoirs of Count Horace de Viel Castel: A Chronicle of the Principal Events, Political and Social, during the Reign of Napoleon III from 1851 to 1864)