Napoleon Crossing the Alps

Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps, 1801
BY JENNY ZHU

The painting Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David marked a new era with new authority and peace. Before the conquest of Napoleon, France was in series of terrors and uncertainties followed by the French Revolution. The painting described a story of Napoleon leading his troops across Alps in a military campaign against the Austrians, historically known as the Battle of Marengo. On the bottom left corner of the painting, Napoleon's name alongside with Hannibal and Charlemagne, leading figures of the crossing of the Alps, can be seen craved on the stones. Funny thing, Napoleon did not actually lead the troops during this particular campaign. He departed days after the army had marched and later joined his troops.

Commissioned by Charles IV, the King of Spain, the painting took David only four months to complete. In the making of the painting, Napoleon refused to pose for the painting, therefore David asked one of his sons to dress up in the uniform and stand on top of a ladder which explains the youthful physique of the figure. However, Napoleon was not entirely divorced from the process, he commented one time to David, "calm on a fiery horse," which David nicely obeyed. Napoleon was clearly flattered by the painting and ordered three more versions, which now live in Madrid, two in Paris, and one in Milan. The spread of the paintings also reflected Napoleon's triumph on the European conquest. The painting is commonly criticized of being stiff and propaganda rather than art.

After the Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, David, as a member of those who voted for the death of Louis XVI, was sadly exiled. He moved to Brussels and continued his career as an artist.
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Napoleon Crossing the Alps

Diego Jerez
Jacques Loius David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps, 1801

"Ozymandias"
By PERCY SHELLEY
I met a traveller from an antique land, 
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone 
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, 
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, 
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, 
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read 
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, 
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; 
And on the pedestal, these words appear: 
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; 
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! 
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay 
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare 
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Editor's Note: Students were asked to pair a poem and painting with no explanation of the connection. 
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Napoleon Crossing the Alps

Alexa Birt

Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps, 1801-1805
By ALEXA BIRT

Jacques-Louis David's oil on canvas painting, Napoleon Crossing the Alps, showcases the infamous French dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte. The work features Bonaparte on horseback, assuming a confident pose, donning an extravagant red cape billowing in the wind. In the background, soldiers march up the rocky mountain.

Napoleon Crossing the Alps was one in a series of five versions made between the 1801 and 1805. The first version was commissioned by the French ambassador to Spain; however, once Bonaparte got word of his portrait, he asked David to make three more versions. The fifth and final version of the work was made purely for David's enjoyment to express his support and honor for Bonaparte. Each version seems to look approximately the same, with mainly only the color tone in the background changing. However, Napoleon's pose and location on the canvas remains the same throughout the series.

Napoleon's gesture pointing upward is a sort of motif that appears in other works by David, such as The Oath of the Horatii, and The Death of Socrates. The position in which Napoleon hand rests in suggests an extreme amount of confidence in achieving his goal, and may possibly have some religious connotations. In addition, Napoleon's ungloved hand symbolizes his position as a leader or peacemaker rather than a conqueror. The rock inscriptions on the bottom left of the painting feature Napoleon's name, as well as Hannibal and Charlemagne, two other historically notable figures who led troops across the Alps.

This piece conveys a mixture of emotions for the viewer. Napoleon's confident stature contradicts the feeling one may experience from the cold brutality of the mountainous background. However one may feel about this painting, it remains apparent that Jacques-Louis David definitely thought highly of the dictator and battle commander.
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Napoleon Crossing the Alps

1800
Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps, 1800

Against the strong wind, Napoleon Bonaparte sits astride  rearing white stallion on the journey up the Alps. His right hand points up to the summit, encouraging exhausted soldiers to follow and overcome obstacles for victory. Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David depicts historical events in May 1800, when Napoleon led his troops over the Alps in a military campaign against the Austrians, whom he later defeated in June at Battle of Marengo. 

Besides its tremendous artistic value, Napoleon Crossing the Alps ultimately served propaganda purposes for Napoleon’s public image, which became crucial when he rose to power in 1804. David certainly idolized the man. Voilà mon héros (he is my hero), David told his students when they visited his studio. Naturally, when David was asked to craft this painting, he romanticized his hero. The painting measures 260 x 221 cm, and undoubtedly exerts an impact at whoever stands in front of it. In reality, Napoleon did not lead his troops across the Alps, but followed a couple of days after them on a mule. He was wrapped in furs, not in a flowing red cloak. And his finger points to the summit? With him facing directly to the viewer, one feels Napoleon is calling them to follow, not the soldiers. Some of this romanticization, of course, is necessary to portray Napoleon as a leader bringing peace and stability to France. However, as for the straying from reality, David is not the one to blame. Napoleon, famously, refused to model for the painting (perhaps to make the painting more believable to the public). Instead, he sent David an earlier portrait and the uniform he had worn at Marengo. David’s son posed for the painting in the uniform, which explains the youthful physique of Napoleon in the painting. David often uses inscriptions to reinforce the theme of his paintings. In Napoleon Crossing the Alps, the foreground rocks read Karolus and Magnus, heroes who led their troops over the Alps, with the later, coincidentally, also portrayed once in an equestrian statue.

Immediately after the release of the painting, David was appointed Premier Peintre (First Painter) of Napoleon. The painting itself, was so adored by Napoleon that he ordered three additional versions, with the fifth one stayingat David’s studio. All in similar sizes but different hues, five versions of Napoleon Crossing the Alps were hung all over Europe to represent his breadth of conquests. 

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