This Iconic Napoleon Painting Tricked Everyone

This is Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David. It’s the most famous portrait of the brutal French military leader turned emperor. But in reality, this painting is a giant lie and just another reason the artist is considered a sellout.

Napoleon wasn’t just a genius military commander, he was also a master propagandist. Here's the truth about this painting. Napoleon didn’t ride up the alps on a horse, he rode up on a mule. He also didn’t even lead his troops over the Alps at all, he followed them a couple of days later. And the weather was apparently nice, not treacherous as the painting suggests.

This painting depicts this event formally known as the Battle of Marengo where the French took the Austrians by surprise and won. In celebration of his recent victory and becoming First Consul an exchange of gifts took place between Charles IV of Spain and Napoleon to re-establish diplomatic relations. The original portrait was commissioned by King Charles and gifted to Napoleon. This piece is one of the many copies Napoleon had David create for him afterward.

Many have raised doubts about the artists motives, questioning how he could oppose the monarchy so strongly only to later endorse someone like Napoleon, who forcefully rose to power and made himself a tyrannical dictator. Though his revolutionary paintings were so raw and intense, which makes it difficult to believe that he didn't genuinely believe in it.

Napoleon may not have sat for this portrait but David's painting portrayed him exactly as he wanted to be seen: The ideal savior for a nation that was desperate and in the trenches. Thank you for watching!

credits:

cloud effect from Vecteezy

[FirestormX]

God, I love this channel and the style of presentation. But I must say, I miss the older more detailed video essays which would be way over 10 mins. But maybe, this portrait of Napoleon only deserves this length, average for our time ha :D

[cmm]

Napoleon employed a local teenage boy to serve as a guide during the crossing of the Alps. The boy later recounted how on many occasions Napoleon and the soldiers had to slide down icy trails on their butts. That image would have made for a most heroic painting.

[julilla]

A lot of people were smitten with Napoleon. Beethoven wrote "Eroica" for him, but left out the last part of it because he had grown disillusioned with Napoleon. Sometimes it is hard for us to put away those who gained our loyalty, even if they turn out not to deserve it. In any case, I love all of David's paintings. They are stunningly beautiful.

[hrriphic]

War horses were exorbitantly expensive. Even now, maintaining horses is an expensive undertaking. Why exhaust your horse when mules are far more hardy and more suitable for traversing snowy mountain terrain? It makes infinitely more sense to me that he rode a mule up the alps.

I adore this channel. Thank youuuu

[Susie_Floozie]

At a thrift shop, I found some unknown art student's attempt at David's "The Death of Marat" for $3.03. It was done in acrylics, and despite its clumsy chiaroscuro and a few amateurish notes, it's pleasing to me. I hung it in my bathroom wall above the showerhead so I can laze in a bubble bath with my boobs floating and contemplate it.

[stephenpmurphy]

Your videos are always so enjoyable!
Art Deco is a bright spot on You Tube and your editing skills are top notch.

[Greye]

I've always wondered why it seemed something is amiss in this painting. Napoleon just looks way to young in it, considering the age he was at the time of his trek through the Alps. Well, now I know. 😂 Thank you for the time and effort you put into your videos. Your study and research of all of these paintings is excellent and I really enjoy them.

[Heavilymoderated]

Imagine a world where the super rich pay nothing in taxes… You mean the world we currently live in?

[susanmercurio]

Horsemen keep their heels DOWN at all times. Napoleon's heels in the stirrups are up, which, if your foot slipped, your foot would get caught in the stirrup and is extremely dangerous.
David, get it right!

[HistoryfortheAges]

Yes, it was part of his propaganda campaign! I am a history professor and just saw the movie. I made a review on it as well if people want to know what was historically accurate in it and what was fiction.

[theparkourlady]

Maybe David was both a revolutionary and a survivalist. We don't know what sort of pressures he was under to do his job. No doubt he wanted to keep his family fed and alive -which means going with the flow of the current government for someone rubbing shoulders in those sorts of circles. Maybe he gave himsekf a copy of the painting because he liked it. Maybe it was an overt display of loyalty to undermine any suspicions. Who knows. Those details from other works are exquisite tho!❤

[sophiaisabelle]

We appreciate your insights. You'll always have our support no matter what.

[OutsideGamerGirl]

Great video as always! Can you do a video on Artemisia Gentileschi? A brilliant lady with beautiful artwork.

[MrHvleeuwen]

His age is portraited right though. He was 27 years old when he got command of the army of Italy and the battle of Marengo was at the end of the Italian campaign, which wouldve made him at MOST 31 or 30

[bluegreenglue]

I confess I damaged a high school history book by tearing out the page that contained this portrait (I thought it was a gorgeous painting, accurate or not). Thanks very much for the history and context. As always, I appreciate your presentation a great deal. Thank you.

[Anti_Woke]

Thank you for pointing out so much background detail that I'd never taken any notice of before.

[ordinosaurs]

Napoleon wasn't exactly tall, but the Brit propaganda weaponized his size because in pre-metric France, the inch was longer than the imperial inch (2.7cm vs 2.54). So his size was 5 ft 2 in in French customary units, roughly 1.67 metre. But of course, omitting the precision, it sounded ridiculously short for a common man accustomed to the imperial system.

[ladonnamartinez]

So glad to see this here. I have been missing your videos for weeks or even months.

[arosefortes]

Always a joy to listen to your videos and always informative and with good clean humor!

[camilogonzalez]

"I don't give a frantic feline" has become my new to-go phrase