Napoleon Bonaparte in office

ID: #1848 | TOP 100 | Classicism | Portraits

Date: 1812
Medium: oil on canvas
Location: Kress Collection, Washington D.C., USA
Dimensions: 203.8 x 125.1

The Emperor Napoleon in his study in the Tuileries is a painting by the French classicist painter Jacques-Louis David. In the picture we see Napoleon in the uniform of the Imperial Guard with the highest French state decoration - the Order of the Legion of Honor and the Austrian Order of the Iron Crown in his typical stance with his hand in his coat. The office itself is made of expensive materials - a wooden gilded chair with red velvet and gold embroidery in the Empire style, a desk decorated with a lion's head. If we focus on details such as undone cufflinks, disheveled hair, crumpled stockings, lit candles and the clock showing 4 hours and 13 minutes, it can be concluded that Napoleon worked all night. The sword in the armrest refers to military achievements, while the heraldic bees point to the stability of the imperial dynasty.

David painted picture Napoleon Bonaparte in office in 1812. Prevailing color of this fine art print is vivid and its shape is portrait. Original size is 203.8 x 125.1. This art piece is located in Kress Collection, Washington D.C., USA. This image is printed on demand - you can choose material, size and finishing.

Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825). French painter. David lived in a time of political turmoil that affected not only our existence, but also his paintings. Indeed, they predetermined the motives of his paintings. He adapted to the times – during the monarchy, he painted members of the royal family, during the revolutionary republic and in the era of the French Empire, he made portraits of Napoleon. He was attracted by the ideal of beauty of ancient art, and he subordinated his composition and sophistication to this ideal. His work is accurate, error-free, compositionally and technically perfect. He uses light and colour curtly. His paintings helped establish the French Classicist school and became a precursor of romanticism.