Angels Gallery

Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France and his family

Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France (1769-1821), pictured with his two wives, Empress Josephine (de Beauharnais) (1763-1814) and Empress Marie-Louise (of Austria) (1791-1847) and his son Napoleon Francois Charles Joseph Bonaparte (18111832), Prince Imperial, King of Rome, Prince of Parma, of Placentia, and of Guastalla and known as Franz, Duke of Reichstadt (from 1818 onward). Date: circa 1910s

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection

Joan of Arc at the Siege of Orleans

Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) (1412-1431) - on a divine quest to aid France against the English. She bore a white banner bearing the image of God and two Angels. King Charles VII sent Joan to the Siege of Orleans (pictured here) as part of a relief army. She gained prominence after the siege was lifted only nine days later.
1429

© Mary Evans Picture Library/Tom Gillmor

Le Ciel - Paris Cabaret Nightclub - Adoration of golden pig

Le Ciel - Montmartre, Paris Cabaret Nightclub. The Cabaret du Ciel (Cabaret of Heaven) was an early version of modern theme restaurants, with a theme centered around celestial concepts connected to the afterlife in Paradise. Inside the restaurant, beer was served, and the customers were greeted by acts such as angels playing music, St. Peter sprinkling holy water from the heavens, as well as reenactments of scenes related to Dante's Inferno. Here showgirls surround a golden pig in full-body stockings and festoon this idol with flower garlands. The patrons formed a line, as they approached the statue of the animal, bowing and making the sign of the cross before it. Date: circa 1905