#Napoleon crossing the alps

[empirearchives]

Napoleon at the Great St. Bernard (details), Jacques-Louis David, 1801

Belvedere Museum, Vienna

[jariv4]

[captainknell]

A surprise for me today!

[gloop-augustus]

“Napoleon Crossing the Alps” by Jacques-Louis David, recreated in collage by Jessica Rock using only René Magritte scraps.

Paper on paper, 2023

[thedalatribune]

© Paolo Dala

Napoleon Crossing the Alps Jacques-Louis David (1801) Louvre (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)

The GOAT According To Napoleon

I know men, and I tell you Jesus Christ was not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and other religions the distance of infinity.

Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him… I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man; none else is like Him: Jesus Christ was more than a man… I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me … but to do this is was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lightened up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts… Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space. Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man’s creative powers. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ.

Napoleon Bonaparte

[motions1ckn3ss]

choose your fighter

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

Here's an important question. Which is your favorite version of the Napoleon crossing the alps painting?

Oh man, I like both for different reasons. The panache of the David painting is fun, also it's a great example of (eventually imperial) myth creation.

The Delaroche, though, is probably my favourite between the two. It was painted fifty years after the event, but I like the sombre feeling to it. The more realistic portrayal of the crossing. The fact that there are other men present. Napoleon didn't do things alone, his leaps and bounds of success were not down to him and him alone. Without support he'd have gone nowhere - save jail or the guillotine.

So I like that we see the man leading Napoleon's mule. We see others coming up behind him. There are the men with artillery behind Napoleon in David's version, but they feel distant and little more than just props. Versus the officer trying to keep his hat on, the careful guidance of the man leading Napoleon through the pass.

It's also intimate in a way that David's is not (nor was supposed to be - their intentions as artists being vastly different). The close focus on just Napoleon and a few choice other characters, the fact that it is these people who dominate the painting, alongside their less than glamourous animals and drudgery of campaign, makes it feel like you're there with them. Compared to David's painting, which is all about witnessing the glory of Napoleon from a distance. As an audience member. As a subject.

And I also like that Delaroche was clearly painting Bonaparte whereas David was already starting to create the image of the man who was to become Napoleon.

[sheltiechicago]

Napoleon Crossing The Alps

Victoria Lee Tattoo

[mote-historie]

Napoleon Crosses the Alps, by Jacques-Louis David, showing the French Emperor on his white Arab stallion Marengo.

[skitskatdacat63]

I'm 99% sure you have look at most painting of Napoleon, so I need to ask you this question.

Is it just me is does it seem like a third of all painting of Napolean have one of his hands in his waist coat? I swear there is so many pictures with that pose that I can't stop noticing it. I can't think of a reason why that would be other than artist avoiding drawing hands.

Helloooo! Very interesting question! To quote wikipedia:

The hand-in-waistcoat (also referred to as hand-inside-vest, hand-in-jacket, hand-held-in, or hidden hand) is a gesture commonly found in portraiture during the 18th and 19th centuries. The pose appeared by the 1750s to indicate leadership in a calm and firm manner. The pose is most often associated with Napoleon Bonaparte due to its use in several portraits made by his artist, Jacques-Louis David, amongst them the 1812 painting Napoleon in His Study.

I think Napoleon paintings are very funny bcs he really hated sitting for portraits, so a lot, if not basically most, of his portraits are kinda just the artist's best possible representation. And particularly paintings like "Napoleon Crossing the Alps" is more of like the ideal/image of Napoleon, rather than being super accurate. And I think this hand in the waistcoat pose just became an easy way to characterize him in paintings, if that makes sense? Like of course other historical figures have done that same pose, but when you see it, doesn't it evoke Napoleon in your head?

But I definitely agree with you on the "avoiding drawing hands" part 😭 I actually kinda like drawing hands but 1. They're difficult to draw correctly, and 2. They're difficult to pose. I struggle irl on where to put my hands if I'm standing still, so think about that in the context of painting. It's very hard to avoid it feeling stiff or awkward, right? So oftentimes it's nice to put one of the hands in the pocket and the other resting or pointing or something, otherwise it's very difficult, at least imo.

I talked about it at some point, but I was kinda confused at why so many paintings of Philip V have him pointing, either in the distance or upwards. And sure, you can try to interpret some deeper meaning. But I think a lot of it comes down to "ah man, idk what to do with his hand, I guess I'll make him point."

Tl;dr: Half of it is to symbolically represent his calm yet firm sense of leadership as well as to easily characterize him, so as soon as you see that pose it immediately evokes "Napoleon Bonaparte." The other half is that it's an easy solution to both not having to draw another hand but also avoid the pose looking stiff :D

I like it a lot bcs as I said, it's a really easy way to instantly signify that you're referencing Napoleon, examples in my art:

[ivan-fyodorovich-k]

Building on the success of my composite print of Whaam!,

would it be too insane to print out a 6′ x 4.75′ Liberty Leading the People to fill an adjacent wall

admittedly, the style would clash

but also, when am I going to be in this position again?

[empirearchives]

Here is the Napoleon Crossing the Alps scene that I’m obssesed with.

From Marie Antoinette (2006), dir. Sofia Coppola

[diagnosed-anxiety-disorder]

I think the reason why I started painting is literally because of Jacques-Louis David. Like I remember seeing a picture of the Coronation of Napoleon for the first time and being like "*points aggressively* THAT. I WANT TO BE LIKE THAT." and then my art style evolved to be more realistic and now im fully incapable of drawing cartoons

[jkmooneclipsesun]

If painting’s could talk.💬

“Yihaa! Stormwind! Let’s ride out in the sunset.”

“Does this dress make me look fat?”

[typewriter-worries]

life film imitates art

The Kiss, Gustav Klimt | Shutter Island, dir. Martin Scorcese | Christina's World, Andrew Wyeth | Bad Dreams, dir. Andrew Fleming | Prisoners Exercising, Vincent Van Gogh | A Clockwork Orange dir. Stanley Kubrick | The Night Café, Vincent Van Gogh | Lust for Life, dir. Vincente Minnelli | Nighthawks, Edward Hopper | Pennies from Heaven dir. Herbert Ross | The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci | Viridiana, dir. Luis Buñuel | Napoleon Crossing the Alps, Jacques-Louis David | Marie Antoinette, Sofia Coppola

[astrazero]

My revamp of, Napoleon Crossing the Alps, by Jacques-Louis David, 1802