Napoleon I On His Imperial Throne Analysis

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David developed an image of Napoleon as an authority figure that could still be humble and represent the working class. A different painter composed a representation of Napoleon in splendid royalty. There were many symbols of art used to portray that Napoleon’s rule was divine, purposeful, and somehow “meant by the Gods”, This work was done by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867). Painted at the beginning of his career Napoleon I on His Imperial Throne (1806) is an aggrandized portrait of Napoleon enthroned. It is known that Ingres drew on classical sources, specifically an engraved Roman gem with a depiction of Jupiter for the pose of the piece. Ingres painted Napoleon as royalty in his coronation robes, with the sword and crown of …show more content…

He wanted to be seen as a man capable of all walks of life. The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries did just this. Jacque-Louis David created a masterpiece showing Napoleon standing three quarters life in size in uniform of a colonel with decorations, white stockings, his face towards the viewer and his right hand in his jacket. Napoleon’s unbuttoned cuffs, wrinkled stockings, dishevelled hair, and flickering candles were all meant to create an image of not just physical power and might but that also of intellectual power and might. The word “Code” stands out on the rolled papers upon his desk. This maintains his new civil, rather than military image (Kryn, 2015). At the end of his life his artwork began to give a true reflection of himself. The iconic image displayed of him working until the candles were burned down low was a very precise deliverance to the public of what was going on in his life. It was said that he was a man of great stamina and would work 18-20 hours a day and go days in a row without sleep. Towards the end of his life his push and drive began to take its toll on his mental and physical health. He is said to have suffered from delusions and bladder and bowel problems. His artwork of him in his study helped convince the French to accept his written masterpiece called “The Code”, a list of societal rules to

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