"Coronation of Napoleon": analysis of David's painting

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Napoleon Bonaparte is the great French emperor, whose coronation took place on December 2, 1804.

Jacques-Louis David in the revolutionary period

An event of this magnitude could not go unnoticed, and a few months before the coronation, Napoleon ordered a painting depicting all the greatness of this action from the artist Jacques-Louis David.

David is a representative of classicism in French painting. Participated in the revolutionary movement and advocated the overthrow of King Louis XVI. He created a number of paintings on revolutionary themes: “The Death of Marat”, “The Oath in the Ballroom”. Around the same time, he founded the National Museum at the Louvre.

''Napoleon's Coronation'' is David's painting, currently located in the Louvre, and all museum visitors can see it. In fact, the original title of the painting is "Dedication of the Emperor Napoleon I and the coronation of the Empress Josephine in Notre Dame Cathedral on December 2, 1804", but in everyday life it is the abbreviated version that is more often used.

The artist accepted Napoleon's offer with great joy, as he was his adherent and fully shared the views of the future emperor. In addition, after the death of Robespierre, he craveda new round of his creativity.

Preparing for the coronation of Napoleon I

Napoleon was famous for his love for the Caesars and the Roman Empire in general, so he wanted to spend his ascension to the throne in accordance with his own tastes.

The coronation itself in the style of Ancient Rome was preceded by global preparations, and the venue for the ceremony was the famous Notre Dame Cathedral, which was quickly rebuilt after the consequences of the recent revolution, and also decorated in the spirit of the ancient empire.

''Napoleon's Coronation'' became the peak of the master's work and contributed to the renewal of classicism through realism.

David's painting

All the figures on the canvas are carefully designed, so that all the characters are well recognizable. In addition, the artist has clearly demonstrated his attitude towards certain aspects that are clearly criticized by the painter and to some extent give away disrespect.

In the painting ''The Coronation of Napoleon'', Jacques-Louis David tried to convey all the events of this ceremony.

For example, the religious atmosphere of the entire procedure, luxury and pomp, and the Pope himself, dressed in gold and with a smug look on his face, do not create an atmosphere of spirituality at all, but are rather a mockery. This is the basic disrespect. Since David had a revolutionary character, he portrayed Notre Dame as a gathering place for amateurs, and not as a temple of the Lord.

When the emperor saw the finished painting, he demanded that the painter changethe scene where the Pope sits absently, with his hands folded in his lap. Napoleon's reasoning was very clear: he did not force a servant of God to come from such a distance so that he would do nothing.

Classic David realism

Napoleon himself was a representative of the petty bourgeoisie, and his appearance in chic royal attire in itself should have caused ridicule, but the painter managed to smooth this fact by emphasizing the masculinity and grandeur of his pose.

The future Empress Josephine had a very bad reputation, but her husband demanded to crown her, despite the fact that no queen was awarded such an honor. To hush up this fact, David portrayed the submissiveness of a woman, paying special attention to her external beauty.

On the verge of the formation of a new imperial regime in France, the realism of David gives a certain caricature orientation. Some critics see these manifestations in the depiction of the entire ceremony. Having a critical mind, David could do this if something did not suit him, despite his sympathy for the new leader.

Although David was present at the ceremony itself and did some preparatory sketches, the picture is not a 100% representation of the real events. The artist made some adjustments. A vivid example is the image of the emperor's mother, majestically settled between the two central columns in the background. After all, in fact, she was not present at the coronation of her son, but was at that time in Rome. On the canvas, she throws Napoleonanxiously sad look.

One more distortion of reality can be noticed. In the picture, the ruler is depicted with a laurel wreath on his head, while in fact he took it off to put on the crown. Many believed that the wreath suits the emperor more than the crown, so after some hesitation, David gave preference to him.

If the artist followed reality, he would have to depict Napoleon at the feet of the Pope, and put Josephine even lower. However, knowing about the difficult relationship between the ruler and the clergy, he abandoned this idea.

So David stopped at the coronation of the Empress by Napoleon.

The master also paid tribute to the image of the majesty of the architectural structure. This can be seen through numerous vertical axes - three columns, an altar with tall candles.

The main characters of the picture

The picture shows from 153 to 200 people, but not all of them are identifiable. However, the following characters are unmistakably recognizable:

• Cardinal Fasch, Cardinal Caprara, Greek Patriarch who settled around Pius VII;
• the princes of Neuchâtel and Ponte Corvo, the French chancellor, the Viceroy of Italy, Prince Murat and three marshals - they made up a group of officers of the emperor, each wearing a hat with feathers;
• brothers and sisters of Napoleon, ladies-in-waiting, princesses who make up the retinue of the Empress;
• turned to the viewer the mother of Napoleon, Madame Su, Madame de Fontanges, Monsieur de Cosse-Brissac, Monsieur deLaville and General Bowmon.

Finishing the painting

In 1807, work on the painting ''The Coronation of Napoleon'' was completed. Napoleon examined the canvas for about an hour, after which he enthusiastically exclaimed that David had done an excellent job and created the necessary role for the emperor. Subsequently, the picture was put on display to the public, which gave it considerable popularity.

''Napoleon's coronation'' (the year of the remarkable event is indicated at the beginning of the article) delighted Parisians throughout the year. It is noteworthy that David asked for only one hundred thousand francs for his work, which caused many disputes with the imperial ''accounting department'', which found many reasons not to issue a fee.

The painting ''Napoleon's Coronation'' (date of commencement of work on the canvas - December 21, 1805, completion - January 1808) became the greatest creation of its author.