New exhibit at Museum of Ventura County showcases history of Napoleon era in a unique way

VENTURA, Calif.—Local artist George Stuart has brought miniature figures to life in an immersive exhibit called “Napoleon: Revolution, Romance, and Rivalries.”

“ You're connecting to history on a human level and learning about the the people that lived there. You get to see them as a figure. You see their clothing, you see their fingers, you see their eyelashes. You see them more as people that lived on Earth and impacted history and impacted where we are today versus this idea of a person that sometimes you get in in history classes,” said Museum Collections Manager Renee Tallent.

Visitors can explore Napoleon’s rise to power during the aftermath of the french revolution and his ultimate fall from grace.

Even though the exhibit focuses on what’s happening in France during napoleon’s rule, it also highlights what’s happening in England, Russia, and the United States.

“The United States doubled in size because of a sale that Napoleon made for the Louisiana Purchase. So we that sets up the United States for this westward expansion and this growing at a time when we were very young as a country,” said Tallent.

In addition to learning about the history of the Napoleon era, visitors to this exhibit will also learn about the process behind making the historical figures.

“It's not easy to find fabrics that are the right scale for a quarter size human being. He has to make his own buttons. He has to create his own trims for all the fabric. He has to style all of the hair on these sculptures. And it's incredibly effective when you when you see them, they they do look like real people that have just been shrunken and put into a case,” said Tallent.

The display is open now through September 15th.