WATERLOO-ANNIVERSARY/LEGO Waterloo commemorates battle bicentenary with Lego exhibition on Napoleon

Record ID: 149567

  • Title: WATERLOO-ANNIVERSARY/LEGO Waterloo commemorates battle bicentenary with Lego exhibition on Napoleon
  • Date: 29th May 2015
  • Summary: WATERLOO, BELGIUM (MAY 29, 2015) (REUTERS) ASSEMBLAGE OF LEGO BUILDING BLOCKS DEPICTING FRENCH EMPEROR NAPOLEON BONAPARTE ON A HORSE DUPLICATE OF NAPOLEON'S BICORN AND COPY MADE OF LEGO BUILDING BLOCKS THRONE OF NAPOLEON MADE OF LEGO BUILDING BLOCKS LEGO CHARACTERS REPRESENTING IMPERIAL ARMY RIDERS EXHIBITION DESIGNER AND PROMOTER, ERIC JOUSSE, FINALIZING MODELS REPRESENTI
  • Embargoed: 13th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5RMDJU4IW9BXPINY5SGT3UQYX
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The Belgian town of Waterloo on Friday (May 29) finalised preparations for an exhibition of Lego models depicting various milestones in the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, as the city is about to commemorate the bicentenary of the eponymous battle that witnessed the French emperor's last and failed attempt to return to power.
    First presented in 2014 in the French town of Rueil-Malmaison at the occasion of the bicentenary of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte's first wife, Josephine, the display features new additions such as the battle headquarters of Napoleon and his British nemesis, The Duke of Wellington, as well as the Lion's Mound, a monument commemorating the battle.
    The exhibition includes a Lego impression of painter Jacques-Louis David's work titled 'Napoleon Crossing the Alps,' and also features Lego models of the emperor's iconic bicorn, of his throne and the Castle of Malmaison, one of his favourite residences.
    In the latter, Napoleon, who ruled France between 1799 and 1814, is seen inspecting the Guard, accompanied by his first wife, Empress Josephine.
    Dominating the exhibition hall is a model of Napoleon's last resting place, the Hotel des Invalides, made out 274,000 plastic pieces provided by the Danish toy manufacturer.
    The French designer of the exhibition, Eric Jousse, estimates that it took thousands of hours of work to complete it.
    "More than 20 people - modellers and builders - worked on the Waterloo exhibition using around one million building blocks, representing around 1,000 hours of construction work. This is only to create Wellington's headquarters, Napoleon's headquarters, the Lion's Mound and the flag of Waterloo. To this, you have to add 10,000 hours for works that were produced in Rueil (for a previous exhibition in 2014). In particular, if you take the Castle of Malmaison there, 20,000 bricks and around 300 hours. The most time-consuming one was the Invalides dome that is being constructed over there. It is 2.5 meters high, it weights half a ton and features over 300,000 blocks. 5,000 hours were necessary to build it," said Jousse, who owns a company which specializes in reproducing famous monuments using lego bricks.
    He added Lego's company policy does not allow its name to be associated with violent scenes, thus Jousse's decision not to display pieces illustrating battle scenes.
    The exhibition's initiator, Waterloo alderman Yves Vander Cruysen, said the use of bricks was a good way to convey the history of his town to younger generations.
    "Here, we wanted to do something for children, who generally come with their parents and grandparents. This exhibition meets our expectations. It allows a better understanding of the Battle of Waterloo and the 'Empire' period for all generations in a ludic way. That's what we were looking for and this is why we invested in this project," Vander Cruysen said.
    The battle of June 18, 1815, saw British and Prussian forces defeat Napoleon's French in what is now Belgium, dealing the final blow to the empire he had established, at a cost of almost 50,000 dead or wounded on both sides.
    The exhibition is one of the many events organized in Belgium around the bicentenary.
    In the country that saw the Emperor's last stand, the anniversary will be marked by a stray of exhibitions and the release of commemorating stamps and medals.
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