The black swans of Empress Josephine’s Chateau de Malmaison

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The ****** swans of Empress Josephine’s Chateau de Malmaison

Two ****** swans face away from each other, arch their necks and almost form a love heart.

It’s pretty much how I feel, too, about Chateau de Malmaison, about 15km outside Paris.

We can see ****** swans any day on the Swan River in Perth, but in the grounds of this chateau, which was once home of Josephine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte … well, it’s unexpected.

Napoleon and Josephine had a deep interest in Australia and its wildlife and plants. They instructed expedition commander Nicolas Baudin to bring back a male and a female ****** swan from his four-year scientific voyage to Terra Australis Incognita.

Napoleon had approved a fully equipped exploratory expedition to Australia in 1798, with Baudin in command. He was an experienced naval officer, and the expedition included 23 scientists who specialised in zoology, botany, horticulture, geography, mineralogy and astronomy.

The expedition’s two ships left Le Havre in October 19, 1800, and spent almost four years sailing Australia’s western and southern coasts, and Tasmania.

They collected more than 200,000 specimens of flora and fauna, with 2542 new to science. They brought back 200 live plants for Josephine’s garden at the Chateau de Malmaison.

Perhaps even more impressively, they brought back live animals from Australia for the first time — including the two swans and one kangaroo that survived the trip.

Camera IconBlack swans at Empress Josephine’s Chateau de Malmaison. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********

One should realise, of course, that it wasn’t just Napoleon and Josephine who were fascinated by Australia. In the early 1800s, this was the most exotic, remote, unexplored place on the planet and that interest was certainly shared by the French.

It was something that fashionable trendsetter Josephine capitalised on. The animals — and particularly the ****** swans — were a big attraction for her. Parisian society came to Chateau de Malmaison to marvel at these strange ****** birds, in striking contrast to the common white ones.

“There could be 400 guests,” says excellent Paris guide Sandrine Vaillant. “It was a fashion show. It was fun to be here.”

The official emblem of Western Australia, depicted on our State’s flag and coat of arms, was a wow in Paris — long before the British established the Swan River Colony in 1829.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconSome of the dramatic flooring. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West AustralianTHE CHATEAU’S STORY

Chateau de Malmaison is much less visited than some other places in Paris.

While there’s a scrum at the Palace of Versailles most days, there’s a very good chance there will be few people at Malmaison, if you visit.

It’s not comparable in grandeur, of course. It is small and personal — but I find such charm in that. I really feel, almost awkwardly, that I am strolling around Napoleon and Josephine’s personal home.

And it is full of original furniture, albeit recovered sympathetically in the silks and colours of the era. But there is the bed they slept in together, which was unusual of a society marriage at the time — husbands and wives generally having separate chambers. It is recorded that Napoleon often only slept three hours a night, going to bed at midnight, rising and bathing at three, and then studying at his desk until his working day started at 6am or so. And there, in the library, is the actual desk at which Napoleon Bonaparte educated himself about the world.

Josephine bought Malmaison with borrowed funds in 1799, while Napoleon was away on a military campaign in Egypt. He later reimbursed her, and only 6ha ******** around the house these days. Apart from the building, it has pieces which relate to Josephine and her children Eugene and Hortense, and Bonaparte when he was a general and first consul.

Empress Josephine would become mistress of the Palace of Versailles, but Malmaison always remained the place where she felt most at home. Her real home.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconAn elaborate chandelier. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West *********** JOSEPHINE’S ARK

The animals came back, two by two, along with her instructions for a male and female to be collected and transported.

Various documents describe the ship as “Josephine’s Ark”, as Baudin had been instructed to bring back two of each.

Emus, kangaroos and those ****** swans.

To me, it’s quite incredible that the crew managed to keep the many diverse plants and the animals alive on a voyage which took six months, often with poor weather and big seas, and through varying climates. It is recorded in logs that the animals were fed bread soaked in wine.

The ****** swans mated and eggs hatched into cygnets, making Josephine the first person ever to breed ****** swans in captivity. The ****** swans thrived, adorning the lake and roaming Josephine’s gardens.

The first kangaroo also arrived in 1804 — only one of the three kangaroos that were loaded onto the ship in Australia survived the voyage. After the other two were found ***** in their pens, Commander Baudin decided that keeping them outside under tarpaulins wasn’t the best approach, and reconfigured the cabins of botanist Theodore Leschenault and midshipman Joseph Ransonnet to house the kangaroos.

Josephine’s reputation for her “ark” spread, and respect for her small zoo and botanical garden grew.

She was competitive with her collection — vying with the Museum of Natural History of France for specimens. Even during the Napoleonic Wars, ships carrying specimens to her were allowed free passage. She pioneered the planting of acacia, melaleuca and eucalyptus throughout France.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconOne of the roses at Empress Josephine’s Chateau de Malmaison. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West AustralianSHAPING THE GARDENS

When Josephine bought Malmaison, it had 726ha of grounds.

She had the gardens landscaped in the English style, with winding paths, bridges and quaint buildings which include the cottages and temples. A stream was widened to make a small lake.

The 50m-long glass greenhouse she had built by Jean-Marie Morel, the patriarch of English gardens, was heated by coal stoves. It was tall enough for 5m trees.

In it, Josephine cultivated rare plants and acclimatised exotics she had brought to her.

The plants and seeds from Baudin’s expedition certainly added to the gardens.

Records show that 200 plants that were not endemic to France were grown there for the first time in the country at Malmaison — a significant horticultural achievement.

And Josephine loved roses. She had a collection of more than 250 varieties, and I stroll around today’s rose garden, with their old varieties, and think how she must have done the same, walking through their scent on a still day like this (much as one sprays French perfume, then walks into it).

Might we put some of Josephine’s interest into the natural sciences down to frivolity? Showing off? Passing fancy? History tells us not. For she was consistent, committed and her knowledge clearly grew.

On the animal front, I must say, it grew outlandishly, with her menagerie including animals from all over Europe, and from ******* and America, as well as the *********** species. Ostriches and emus. Kangaroos, orangutans and zebras.

The care and feeding of these became frightfully expensive. Some were moved to the formal museum zoo, and Josephine stuck to botany — while keeping her ****** swans, of course.

She ***** here at Chateau de Malmaison in 1814, and the collection of plants didn’t survive long without her. The 726ha of the estate was gradually broken into parcels.

Today, there is just 6ha to be visited and strolled — but I think they still reflect Josephine’s vision and passion.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconAn unusual early portrait of Napoleon, showing him as a long-haired soldier. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West AustralianEXOTIC PERSPECTIVES

It does occur to me that Napoleon and Josephine were, indeed, exotics themselves — oddities in French society.

Napoleon was born on the island of Corsica, and had a strong accent which was decidedly “not Parisian”.

And though Josephine was decidedly French, she was born in Martinique — an island in the Caribbean and an overseas department of France. She spoke Creole and liked to walk barefoot. (Shock horror, in Paris.) She grew up on a sugar plantation and had the bad teeth to show it — hence her collection of fans).

She learnt elegance in the convent where she was sent after separating from her first husband, and in prison during the Year of *******, in 1794, during the French Revolution.

It had begun in 1789 and Louis XVI was ********* in 1793. But the revolution ******* to produce a stable *********** government and after several forms of administration the final one, called the Directory, was overthrown by Napoleon in 1799 — the year Josephine bought Malmaison.

Of Napoleon, Sandrine says: “Napoleon was in love with Josephine. He loved Josephine here. All he does is for France, for his family and for Josephine.”

VISITING BAUDIN

I feel I should round things off, and visit Nicolas Baudin on Heirisson Island.

There is a sculptured bust commemorating this French explorer, who named this island in the Swan River, near the Causeway, for one of his ship’s officers.

The bust on Heirisson Island, by artist Peter Gelencser, was presented by the former Prime Minister of France, Michel Rocard, in 2001.

fact file

+ Chateau de Malmaison is 17km west from the centre of Paris; 12km from its outskirts.

+ From the train station Gare de La Defense; transfer to the 258 bus and disembark at the Ecole la Malmaison stop.

+ A taxi will take about 20 minutes in light traffic.

+ Take a train from Chatelet les Halles to Rueil-Malmaison. Paris RER operates a train from Chatelet les Halles to Rueil-Malmaison every 10 minutes. Tickets are from €4.15 ($7).

+ I visited this time on an included excursion on Viking’s Paris and the Heart of Normandy. The cruise begins in the heart of Paris, with the ship docked close to the Eiffel Tower, and guests experience the Normandy beaches, Rouen’s Gothic architecture, Giverny and charming villages in France. 138 747 and vikingrivercruises.com.au

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconSculpture at Chateau de Malmaison. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconGames room. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconSome of the beautiful ******* furniture inside Empress Josephine’s Chateau de Malmaison. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconSome of the beautiful ******* furniture inside Empress Josephine’s Chateau de Malmaison. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconDramatic reception room. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconNapoleon’s office, with original furniture, including the desk at which he studied. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconNapoleon’s coat. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconSome of the beautiful ******* furniture inside Empress Josephine’s Chateau de Malmaison. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconTable in Chateau de Malmaison. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconSome of the beautiful ******* furniture inside Empress Josephine’s Chateau de Malmaison. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconEmpress Josephine loved swans. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconOriginal bed in Chateau de Malmaison. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconSome of the beautiful ******* furniture inside Empress Josephine’s Chateau de Malmaison. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconBlack swans at Empress Josephine’s Chateau de Malmaison. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconOne of the roses at Empress Josephine’s Chateau de Malmaison. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconRose garden at Empress Josephine’s Chateau de Malmaison. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West ***********

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