Napoleon Crossing the Alps, 1801
Jacques-Louis David
Oil on canvas · 260 x 221 cm
Propaganda on horseback: a rearing charger standing in for a mule.
David sends Napoleon rearing up a mountain pass on a wild-eyed white horse, cloak streaming, calm amid the storm. Pure heroic propaganda, its dynamic diagonal and idealised command made it the defining image of the leader's ambition.
What you're looking at
None of it happened this way. Napoleon crossed the pass on a mule, in fair weather, several days behind his army, and told David to paint him calm on a spirited horse — which David did, five times over. Look at the rocks in the bottom left: BONAPARTE is carved there alongside HANNIBAL and KAROLVS MAGNVS, putting him in the company he wanted.
On a Frame TV
About 5:6. The diagonal runs corner to corner and the clean crop cuts both ends of it, so use the matted file. Strong colour and high contrast; it holds a bright room and it is a picture that wants to be the only thing on the wall.
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- 4K master file (3840px+)
- Samsung Frame TV–ready crop
- Phone wallpaper crop
- Printable art card
Public domain · one .zip, no sign-up
More like this
Other works in the collection, starting with Jacques-Louis David.
