On Tuesday, April 10, 2018, at 10:00 am, the Hamazkayin Tea, Coffee and Opinion Club in Montreal hosted 47 art lovers at the Armenian Center of Avedis Aharonian Hall. They had gathered together to visit the Napoleon exhibition opened at the Art Museum of Montreal. The club's responsible person, Tiruk Manjikian, welcomed the attendees around coffee table, and then invited Dr. Aida Boudjikanian to convey historical information about the exhibition.
In her speech, Dr. Boudjikanian said that Napoleon’s this exhibition is related to the period starting from his imperial coronation in 1804 until his exile in 1815. Consequently, he ruled the empire for nearly 10 years. At the time of his coronation, he had already been married to Joséphine de Beauharnais. Their marriage took place in 1796. After the Waterloo defeat, he was exiled to the English island called Ste Hélène, where he died in 1821.
Dr. Boudjikanian also touched upon the two Armenian mamluck bodyguards of Napoleon, Raza Rustam and Petros Abesov, natives of Karabakh.
The visitors enjoyed many portraits at the museum, including Napoleon’s magnificent portrait at the entrance to the hall. There were also numerous portraits of his family members, including his son and his two spouses as well as many art pieces such as golden jugs, jewelry, Sévres porcelain carefully arranged on the banquet table, many wall decorations, silk fabric and armchairs covered with rugs.
This visit, organized by the Hamazkayin Tea, Coffee & Opinion Club, created a great enthusiasm among the visitors who highly appreciated this cultural event and returned home with pleasant memories and hope that similar events may happen again.
Sanahin Chapter of Hamazkayin