Joséphine exhibition

So, part of what I did the other day was to go see the Joséphine exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg (Paris). It included quite a variety of items: documents, paintings, sculpture, furniture, tableware, jewelry, and clothing, including a court dress with lots of beaded embroidery. This was not as tiny as some of the 19th century clothes I've seen; if I remember correctly, somewhere in the exhibition it said that she was 1.63m tall. The dresses were impressive, but there were only two; I don't know if it's that no more survive or could be brought to this exhibition, or just that antique clothing is probably one of the more fragile and difficult things to put on display.

My favorite items were an Egyptian-inspired set of dishes, blue and gold with hieroglyph patterns; the Canova statue of Cupid and Psyche (the one here is the standing one); Joséphine's harp; and a rather over-the-top chair with swans for armrests. The exhibition is meant to show something of Joséphine's personality. I'm not sure that came across to me as well as it could have if I'd known a bit more beforehand, but I did get an impression of the sorts of things she was interested in, which seemed about as expansive as reasonably possible, given her time and social position: fashion, furniture, jewelry, music, growing roses, and introducing plants from other parts of the world. Also present were Alexandre de Beauharnais' trunk, several original documents relating to the most important events of Joséphine's life, and many portraits.

The exhibition's on until June 29. A few of the items can be seen here, or in this video (both in French only), on the museum site.

OT: I was asked for information or directions at least 3 times while I was in Paris. It seems like I only rarely get asked these things when I'm in a place where I have any idea of the answer, but as soon as I go someplace where I don't.... Anyway, I guess it's probably just a result of being in a city where there are enough tourists that it becomes likely to happen.