Tour of Château de Malmaison in France with Michael Canadas and David Robinson

[Music] it looks right out of a novel doesn't it it does historical novel where are we we are at Mel miss song that this was the home of Josephine Bonaparte and we're delighted to be here because this is what I love and David loves we love to come to special places that it's we're the only ones here well that we know of we have a mountainside there's this one is for Jenny tell Ian yes a beautiful French girl who lives in Southern California and we're here because she mentioned it and I'm in a comment so we thought that's a place we've never been never been so that's why we're here it's for you Jenny yes so we're gonna go in and have a little look EP key we don't see we know it's gonna be beautiful because I hope they allow pictures are filming but if not we'll figure something out we will and we better get in before all these okay sure let's do it oh yes oh boy oh there's a lot of them here I'll show you guys look at look at why don't we go in this to go in before they get you shouldn't that world I never should have said we're alone and Jean wanted you jinxed is amazing and look at the shrubs other beautifully cut perspective is planting the winter plant seeds and they're probably planting the plan that Josephine is always done over always did but look at the last beautiful hmm I wish you guys could smell Oh smell that oh that oh that's actually divine is that some name no this I feel like it's kind of like the Running of the Bulls though guys look you better you better get going they're coming they're coming but that smells amazing sometimes roses don't really smell in that one well that's part of its the new rose was old roads as always heavens to milk oh okay look at this amazing place 1799 was the year that Josephine bought Mel Maison while her husband General Bonaparte was on campaign in Egypt we have entered a side entrance this would be used by family and friends but if we were coming in for the main show we would go in the center front and we would be greeted by this epic portrait of General Bonaparte Napoleon depicted on a white horse really crossed the Alps on a donkey but that wouldn't make for great painting this masterpiece is by David [Music] the receiving room is decorated with many portraits of people from faraway lands [Music] the diplomatic reception room is filled with all kinds of treasures family portraits and an incredible suite of all of us on furniture Josephine lived in Malmaison until her death in 1814 Napoleon spent his last days in France at Malmaison until 1815 ultimately their beautiful home was sold to the Dowager Queen of Spain it would be Josephine's grandson Napoleon the third in 1865 that would restore this house [Music] when josephine bought Malmaison in 1799 she paved 300 thousand francs for the estate which came with a hundred and fifty acres it was an old run-down chateau and she set out to do all the renovations to make it the modern building that we see today and once she became the Empress of the French she had the means to buy whatever she wanted many of the furniture pieces in this house were created by the very same cabinet makers that worked for Maria and Windows with an annual stipend of five million francs per year Josephine could give Marie Antoinette a run for her money Malmaison was the private residence of Josephine and Napoleon but for two years it acted as the headquarters for the French Republic [Music] this would be the room that international visitors would come to meet Napoleon and Josephine Ian its grand yet intimate it's on a scale similar to our White House in Washington DC [Music] and all doors lead to Josephine's exquisite gardens with her fabulous rose collection and in Josephine's time you might run into an exotic animal such as a zebra or a kangaroo that would have been incredible for her guests to see [Music] David what do you love about the Empire taste tennis love the simplicity I find it to be very masculine I mean at the time I wondered was considered very very water I mean it it takes its words from within classical Greek we see a lot of Greek key and I know there is classical motifs maybe buhdeuce I just design I love it it's elegant to me some just offended simplicity amazing but it was already kind of in the works with Marie Antoinette was working on it before her untimely death but I think the pole Ian's campaigns really sealed the deal going to Egypt and so it's I mean I think David is right it's just totally well for that such a departure sixteen absolutely thirty live here these chandeliers deserve for shoes now we are stepping into the formal dining hall which I just love the walls yes mythological wonderful at this time 18:50 modern I think when they do best you know all the garnishes on table settings that had to be a jewel and this is just the colors are so beautiful look at that it's like a muted pink I just love it [Music] and acutely dispose of seniors [Music] now we're in the council in that Melanie song again very unusual Empire furniture in red and black Oh gorgeous portraits of Josephine another thing that's really wonderful about this room this is all upholstered so that you feel like you're on the inside bonds candlesticks and beautiful and her chest mounted beautiful mythological creatures [Music] the library it's gotta be one of my favorite rooms oh I just love the color it's almost like a what color green I don't want to see mint but it almost feels like a a mint green in a way it's not what you think uptick on a wall oh I I think it's a put that on absolutely and it's a classic in 18th century early 19th century color but look at these these are amazing portraits of Josephine and her daughter I believe that Josephine that's just that miss her daughter Hortense another beautiful portrait of Joseph it's really wonderful about these portraits 'as these are most the porches that when you look in books about Napoleon and Josephine the these are the portraits that they take to reproduce it this is it how does it feel to be standing in business it's really exciting and what's nice is it's this is such an intimate place this is very warm and livable it's not like some cavernous drafty Palace which we've been in a few where you think get me out of here so cold I mean this was designed to it's it's pretty warm in here right yeah it is it's just a beautiful beautiful space [Music] so now we're in Napoleon's bedchamber and you can you know even though they had a very exciting life for a certain period of time together in those days people slept separately and if you notice his bed is fairly short now that being said there is a thing called the Napoleon complex it is not really true for his time he wasn't that short he was average right but this is the type of dad that you know I couldn't sleep in it because it wouldn't be quite long enough but again it's beautiful Empire style with the bronze and armaments I have never seen anything like that it's something that you do you get away with it you'd have to have the right fabric the sometimes young people drape rooms like this they overdo it but this is just perfect and look at the the necessary so that that would be where you do your private business behind that wall and pull the drink closed I don't know who's set this is but it is autograph with it and it looks like everything is original to itself and by the way this this palace was used after the time of Napoleon Joseph II Napoleon the third they occupied this - but it's a small house so you wouldn't bring your whole court here would be a place that you could get away get away from all of them there is one of the earliest portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte's that I know of and that is just at the beginning of his is rise so it's it's wonderful to be in the room with those piece pieces and not have 700 jerks with us we're here alone it's wonderful you know we have the school kids and they're being as good as clothes aren't being very good yes they're being really good so we're really lucky [Music] a Safinaz toilette basically her beauty kit so you have all the things for doing your fingernails or perfumes your scissors powders and I mean it's amazing mechanical tool that at all it's very transportable so it could just be picked up and move somewhere else beautiful marcasite around the beveled mirror and it looks like this flop plops down and then there's more space for more cosmetics not and then look at the beautiful big beautiful oak floors and okay this was her special place I'm sure and of course watching over it's just a lovely lovely room this could be done also for a milliner's model or an artist all just a super super idea and look how plain the fireplaces because you know the way the the decoration is where you have your your embellishments and I'm pretty sure that that's the commercial fireplace in this building because it doesn't really look like much has changed you it doesn't feel like it's been no totally restore you feel that you know I do feel I feel like it's in the condition that it should be so now we're in Josephine's ordinary bedchamber so evidently we were just in the fancy bedchamber and this is the ordinary bedchamber I think this has to do with this is a very small room and this would be easy to cut keep warm it doesn't happen it has high ceilings but they're not that high so you could keep this warm room fairly wrong and again we have the very plain fireplace but yet it has all the decorations on the fireplace a beautiful cure year and that these two pieces are both selling stands so these would be used for sewing she wouldn't have two of them the same room at the same time so they the museum is just but this year but then there's four little cozy bedchamber and you can see it's set up it's set for just one there's no room for two people there that the beautiful faux painting around friends of the groom exquisite and then there's her secretary Alberto and that's where she would write me letters and some letters to Napoleon and her children a beautiful painting of mountainous song in the period and then this would be her traveling guests that she was travelling fabulous was your own campaign and then look out the window everybody just imagined it it's an hour and still part of Josephine's boudoir but this is basically part of the dressing room so we just left her basically a very large closet and now this would be a place where her ladies would help get her dressed draperies and wonderful delicate pieces of furniture there's so many things in this Chateau that I have never seen before so I'm very excited about that but I would imagine that this door behind us doors were or 1,000 dresses so she had an extensive this would be part of the getting ready area you can see there's seating here that's very more built in love it they have to have to look after her she could speak that but wonderful wonderful pieces of another sniper chair just super beautiful David what kind of my Hawking is that call is a bird's-eye maple it's not than usual David thinks it could be selfish Michael we'll have to get our wig I doubt but this is this is just a very intimate I need time fireplace but I would imagine you keep this nice and toasty napoleon bonaparte the great emperor and general said of his one true love Josephine who alone you can move and rule my heart their spirit is quite tangible at Malmaison I hope you've enjoyed this tour of this amazing place you

Channel: Michael Canadas

Views: 157,495

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Id: XJ6U41VPUi8

Length: 23min 23sec (1403 seconds)

Published: Wed May 27 2020