neylo

[neylo]

Yes, it is him!

Fun fact: we share the birthday. 🫢

People I found a painting of Ney's dad!!!

(I made sure it was him and NORMALLY he is actually the father of our national Michel Ney)

I mean... Couldn't you see the resemblance between Ney Senior and Ney Junior?

[neylo]

Ney losing to Napoleon in the Sexyman tournament feels weirdly personal. Like come on.

[neylo]

🕊🕊🕊

[neylo]

Do you think this is just macho '80s bullshit or are we literally incapable of depicting the real Camille?

From Danton (1983):

Camille IRL:

"Camille Desmoulins crouched in a corner of the prison and wept. He thought of his young wife, whom he must leave in the power of his executioners. He repeated with sobs the sad farewell he had written to his Lucile, on the eve of the trial. 'Horace! Lucile! My Horace! My beloved! What will become of them ?'" (Camille Desmoulins and His Wife)

From La Révolution Française (1989)

That slight sadface you make when you find out your wife is likely to be executed right after you:

(To be fair, he did make a speech a second before this; he did not, however, rip up his prepared speech and throw it in the Tribunal's faces like he did IRL (from The Giant of the French Revolution: Danton, a Life) and then refuse to leave the courtroom and have to be dragged out by three soldiers (from Camille Desmoulins and His Wife))

Also from La Révolution Française, Camille riding quietly in the tumbril with another little frowny face like you have when you're about to be guillotined — note the low-cut but fully intact shirt:

Camille IRL:

"Then, wild with rage and despair, Camille tried to break his bonds, and, tearing his shirt to rags, so that his lean shoulder, neck and chest showed through the tatters... 'You are deceived, citizens,' he cried, in hoarse tones.' Citizens, your preservers are being sacrificed! It was I, who, in '89, called you to arms. I raised the first cry of liberty! My crime, my only crime has been pity!'"

"Camille... went to the scaffold absolutely naked down to the waist, his shirt being torn in rags." (Camille Desmoulins and His Wife)

& at the trial of the Girondins...:

"...he threw himself into my arms, in distress and agony of mind : " O my God! my God ! it is I who kill them ! my ' Brissot unveiled.' O my God! this has destroyed them!" The unfortunate Camille, fainting, losing his consciousness, faltered out these words:- "I am going, I am going, I must go out. " (Camille Desmoulins and His Wife)

~~~

I swear to the Supreme Being that I don't just want to see men in agony. But a major part of Camille as a person seems to be his open, visceral — & sometimes contradictory — emotionality. He defends & advocates violence and then is horrified when violence is done. He writes some of the most absolutely jaw-droppingly audacious material that you can imagine writing during the Terror and then kind of apologizes and recants but then argues with Robespierre, who is essentially offering him a choice between his work and his life (The Twelve Who Ruled*). He seems to accept that he's courting death, but he does not go to his death with quiet acceptance in the way that seems to be expected/glorified.

And I just think it's a pity that ~200 years later, filmmakers literally cannot capture him. Like, nobody can let a man have emotions or cry or act in a way that could be interpreted as "cowardice" or "weak". Does any movie or show let Camille actually cry & faint?

If he appeared on screen in 2025, do you think we'd be able to let Camille be Camille? Or would he still be squeezed down into Stoic Man Maybe Frowns a Bit?

~~~

*One day I will ramble about the January 7, 1794 argument in the Jacobin club between Camille & Robespierre because I'm kind of obsessed, but it's definitely a tangent here. I read Le Vieux Cordellier III after reading about Jan 7 and oh my god, the entire time I couldn't help thinking Camille, what are you doing?! My heart kind of breaks thinking about everything from ~December-April of this man's life & what he must've been thinking.

[neylo]

Michel Ney:

a. “handsome, brave, noble, and tragic”

Napoleon Bonaparte:

a. “It’s the Napoleonic wars! He’s the main guy here!” b. “Everything. Just, everything.” c. “He has something wrong with him (affectionate)” d. “I don’t know how to write propaganda, so I’ll just say this: Napoleon was a cutie, a world soul, a revolutionary emperor, and a great social and legal reformer. On the subject of physical appearance and attractiveness: He could pull off any look. Whether he was wearing a general’s uniform while riding a galloping white horse or wearing a laurel wreath in the Notre-Dame Cathedral or cuddling up in a large grey coat, he was cute af. He was a short king (above average height for the time). People fainted in his presence (I’m not even kidding, this did actually happen). He went so hard they declared war on him. And that’s pretty neat. He had beautiful hands. For some reason, there are multiple sources commenting on how pretty and gorgeous his hands were. And that’s a weird but cool trait to have. He was beautiful. His eyes were very pretty. Described as both crystal-like and fiery during different instances. His smile (which you can’t really see in any painting) was supposed to be one of his most charming features. His voice was described as ���musical and deep” (from the diary of Bertie Greatheed). Personally, I think he looks like a fluffy panda or a baby seal. As a person, he was a very sweet, affectionate and unusually forgiving (maybe even naively so). He was also a funny and witty person. He enjoyed telling ghost stories, singing along to opera (badly), reading reports (for fun), taking baths, gossiping with his wife, and going to the library.”

[neylo]

I HAVE to tell you about the single funniest event in French Medieval History

[neylo]

I hope u don't mind me asking but how did you become so amazingly different? I love that u sew older time men clothes and such. I just appreciate when people's are different than norm.

At first, allow me to thank you for your honest and kind words, it feels so warming and validating.

Oh hah, I’m probably simply born that way, as I’m neurodivergent (kinda string ADHD, now luckily medicated, allowing me to stay employed and afford my hobbies). I never fit in, only recently, in my late twenties, I finally started to accept it.

Another thing that probably “helps” is that I originally come from a poor border area where they still mostly hold “traditional” patriarchal beliefs about the “woman’s role in society”, always kinda pushing me to be a little princess in order to gain attention.

Somehow it eventually stopped and I realised how much more I loved the “men’s” stories. I fell in love with historical uniforms like 15 years ago and although my interests change and I’m mostly avoiding commitments, this one stayed and although I always found it rather odd and tried to ignore it, it always calls me back.

Gradually, I realised that I can just make and wear whatever I want. I can’t let people dictate me what should I do and wear even if I’m AFAB.

Recently, I decided to “answer the call” and just make the historically accurate Empire Marshal uniform despite the local military reenactment community consisting mostly of middle-aged conservatives (the civilian reenactors are normal, thank fuck). Will I piss them off? Probably, but I guess that I just need to pick a fight with someone anyway as I’m kinda bored.

Yes, sometimes I get questions “when you like embroidery, why don’t you make yourself a ballgown instead?” The thing is that I just can’t see it as a pass-time then, to make and dress myself in elegant gowns of the past. I always perceive the grief over 50% of population with equal intelligence and feelings forced into the role of walking incubators/pleasure tools/decorations and whenever any of them decided to take things into her own hands, either she was (and mostly still is!) judged, or simply forgotten. This is my personal view and I DON’T THING THAT THE LADIES MAKING THE DRESSES ARE CONDONING THIS!

So, that’s why. I swear that it is not that straightforward of a path and I often just hate myself for being different and not being able to accept the societal norms that I deem stupid at the same time.

I doubt this was consistent and I bet I sound angry again. I’m always angry. But thank you again.

Have a picture I won’t probably share elsewhere

[neylo]

A family photo, you might say.

Featuring my latest court suit and my partner’s beautiful hand-embroidered 1805 ballgown.

[neylo]

I’m falling down the goldwork rabbithole. The Marshalate brainrot is still going strong

Here we go again.

Is this brave or very stupid?

[neylo]

Happy birthday Duke of wellington, have a doodle!

[neylo]

Happy birthday to the Duke of Wellington!

[neylo]

Here we go again.

Is this brave or very stupid?

[neylo]

[neylo]

Iron marshal

[neylo]

Hi, your blog is great!

I love your art too.

Have you ever drawn the marshals? I'm thinking of Lannes, Murat, or Ney. I'd love to see them in your style.

Don't pay attention to the haters. Keep doing what brings you joy.

🥰🥰

HIIIIIII!!!!!!! 💖

so I'm sorry I took so long to reply to this, I was just so touched by your lovely words that I wanted to create good quality drawings of the guys you mentioned as a thank you gift, but school got in the way so it took a while to complete >////<

I don't draw the marshals much but I want to draw them more!

here are Murat Lannes and Ney for you 🥰

[neylo]

Are you okay, guys?😭