Napoleon's Crossing of the Alps, Jacques David Louis, 1801 [Size] 260*221cm [Category] Oil Painting [Collection] Mala marthon Castle
Napoleon's Crossing of the Alps
（napoleon crossing the alps)
"Napoleon's Crossing the Alps" shows napoleon leading an army of 40,000 men during the Second War of the French Alliance, climbing the steep Alps and buying time to cut a short way across the St. Bernard's Pass into Italy. The figures are arranged on the snowy steep slopes of the St. Bernard Pass, the gloomy sky and the treacherous terrain reinforce the heroic momentum of the work, and Napoleon's golden cloak makes the picture brilliant. The young Napoleon pointed to the high mountain and rode on the back of an upright fierce horse.
【Introduction】
David was Napoleon's chief painter, and he advocated that art was in the service of the bourgeois revolution, so in this portrait of Napoleon, he vigorously exaggerated heroic spirit and highlighted Napoleon's tall and mighty. Napoleon and the war horse are at the center of the painting, also at the center of the two diagonal lines.
The biggest role of this diagonal composition is to enhance the dynamics of the picture, if David does not tilt the picture thirty degrees, so that the protagonist is located in the center of the diagonal, the whole painting will become stationary and unremarkable.
At the same time, this compositional form also makes the picture have a sense of extension, so that the viewer feels a kind of courage overflowing from the picture.
Napoleon is an idol of David, who sees Napoleon as the heir and terminator of the French Revolution, and in this painting Napoleon points the tip of his right finger to the top of the Alpine mountain, as if to say that victory is just around the corner.
The painter David can be said to be the originator of the beauty world, the real Napoleon is a short man, and he is very concerned about his "shortness", David uses the S shape to show Napoleon's riding posture, which makes up for the defect of his figure. Napoleon succeeded in portraying himself as a heroic figure of great stature.
While painting, Napoleon intervened in the painting, the Alpine climate is very harsh, the mountains are extremely steep, war horses can not climb, so he was riding a donkey instead of a horse, he was wearing a common military coat instead of a yellow coat. David took Napoleon's advice, added a horse to the painting, and dressed Napoleon in a battle robe. We can imagine the scene of the diminutive Napoleon riding a donkey up the mountain, and then look back at the heroic image of Napoleon in this magnificent masterpiece, and we can't help but praise the painter's ingenious way of processing the picture.
French painter H. Paul de la Roche's Napoleon Crossing the Alps goes in two directions with David, and Paul gives feedback on the real historical plot in his paintings.
He painted a donkey truthfully, and Napoleon's hand was pressed on the stomach, this is because Napoleon had a stomach problem, the color of the boots in Paul's painting and the donkey are almost integrated, napoleon is a short man, so it seems more "short".
David, on the other hand, portrayed his idols as he could beautify them, and although he was not loyal to the historical plot, he made Napoleon a heroic figure. After entering Italy, Napoleon severely damaged the Austrian army and finally won the Battle of Marengo, the most glorious battle of Napoleon's life, which David condensed in a painting, perfectly interpreting the heroism of the idol.
There are no extra parts in this painting, everything is carefully arranged by David, because the picture is tilted to the right, David uses the direction of the wind to balance the weight of the picture, so that the viewer will not feel that the picture has lost its center of gravity and is dumped to the right. Napoleon's cloak, the horse's mane, and tail flew forward.
In addition, we can see that there are some soldiers in the rear of the painting, who play a role in embellishing the picture, but also set off Napoleon's tall and majestic shore.
Unfortunately, this great painter who combined politics and art went into exile with the defeat of Napoleon, and since then he has lost his creative passion and artistic inspiration, and he died in exile, fortunately his precious paintings have been preserved, showing us the heroic heroism of that era.
Napoleon's Crossing the Alps is undoubtedly the most heroic painting in history.
Napoleon was so satisfied with this work that he ordered David to copy it, so David and his students copied four more, one copied by David himself, and modified the color of Napoleon's large xenon to distinguish the original, so we see on the Internet that Napoleon's clothes always change back and forth.
【Version preserved in Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin, Germany】
【Edition from the collection at the Palace of Versailles in Paris, France】
【Version kept in the Belvedere Palace in Vienna, Austria】
【The second version from the collection at the Palace of Versailles in Paris, France】
All five versions are basically the same size. Napoleon wore the uniform of a general, a two-pointed hat with gold trim, a saber, and a horse. A cloak blown up by the wind wrapped around Napoleon's body. His face is facing forward, his right finger is pointing to the top of the mountain, and his left hand is holding the reins of the horse. The front feet of the military horse were raised, and the wind that blew through Napoleon's cloak also blew up the mane and tail of the military horse. Behind them were soldiers carrying cannons, forming a column on the mountain path. The upper part of the picture is covered with dark clouds, and in front of Napoleon stands a mountain peak.
On the rock at the front of the painting, the words "bonaparte", "hannibal", "karolvs magnvs imp" are engraved, they are pioneers of crossing the Alps before Napoleon, and the saddle on the chest of the military horse records the signature and date.
【Writer Profile】
Jacques Louis David (1748-1825) was a famous French painter and the founder of the neoclassical school. The painting style is rigorous and the technique is exquisite.
During the dictatorship of the bourgeois revolutionary democrat Jacobins, he was a member of the Committee of Public Education and the Committee of the Fine Arts. Early works feature historical heroes, such as The Oath of the Brothers of Horace and The Execution of His Son Brutus.