"Coronation of Napoleon": analysis of the picture of David

Napoleon Bonaparte - the great French emperor, the coronation of which took place on December 2, 1804.

Jacques-Louis David in the Revolutionary Period

An event of this magnitude could not pass unnoticed, and Napoleon, a few months before the coronation, ordered a picture depicting 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 the revolutionary theme: "The Death of Marat", "The Oath in the Ballroom". Around the same time, he founded the National Museum in the Louvre.

'' The Coronation of Napoleon '' - a picture of David, located at the moment in the Louvre, and see it all visitors to the museum. In fact, the original name of the canvas - "Dedication of the Emperor Napoleon I and the coronation of the Empress Josephine in Notre Dame Cathedral on December 2, 1804", but the abbreviated version is often used in everyday life.

The artist accepted Napoleon's proposal with great joy, as he was his adherent and fully shared the views of the future emperor. Moreover, after the death of Robespierre, he craved a new round of his work.

Preparation for the coronation of Napoleon I

Napoleon was famous for his love for the Caesars and the Roman Empire as a whole, so he wanted to climb his throne in accordance with his own tastes.

The most coronation 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 aftermath of the recent revolution, and adorned in the spirit of the ancient empire.

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

The canvas of David

All the figures on the canvas are carefully worked out, so that all characters are recognizable. In addition, the artist has clearly demonstrated his attitude towards certain aspects, which are clearly criticized by the painter and to some extent render irreverence.

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

For example, the religious situation of the whole procedure, luxury and pomposity, and even the Pope himself, dressed in gold and with a smug look on his face, do not create an atmosphere of spirituality, but rather a mockery. This is the main disrespect. Since David possessed a revolutionary character, he portrayed Notre Dame as the place of a gathering of dilettantes, and not as the temple of the Lord.

When the emperor saw the finished picture, he demanded from the painter to change the scene, where the Pope sits with an absent look, with his hands folded on his lap. Napoleon's argument was very clear: he forced the servant of God to come from such a distance not to do anything.

The classical realism of David

Napoleon himself was a representative of the petty bourgeoisie, and his appearance in a chic royal dress itself was to cause ridicule, but the painter succeeded in smoothing this fact, placing emphasis on the masculinity and grandeur of his pose.

The future Empress Josephine had very bad reputation, but her husband demanded to crown her, even though no queen was awarded such honor. To conceal this fact, David depicted the submission of a woman, paying special attention to her external beauty.

On the threshold of the formation of the new imperial regime in France, David realism gives a certain caricaturedirection. Some critics see these manifestations in the depiction of the entire ceremony. Possessing a critical mind, David could do so if he did not like something, despite the sympathy for the new leader.

Although David attended the ceremony itself and did some preparatory sketches, the picture is not an absolute representation of real events. The artist made some adjustments. A vivid example is the image of the mother of the emperor, majestically arranged between two central columns in the background. After all, in fact, she was not present at the coronation of her son, and was at this time in Rome. On the canvas, she looks at Napoleon with a worried, sad look.

One can notice another distortion of reality. 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 crown fit the emperor more than the crown, so after certain hesitation David preferred it to him.

If the artist followed the reality, he should depict Napoleon at the feet of the Pope, and put Josephine even lower. However, knowing about the difficult relations between the ruler and the representative of the clergy, he refused this idea.

Therefore, David stopped at the coronation of the Empress Napoleon.

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

The main characters of the picture

The picture shows between 153 and 200 people, but not all of them are identifiable. However, the following characters are unmistakably recognized:

• Cardinal Fash, Cardinal Caprara, Greek patriarch who settled around Pius VII;
• The princes of Neuchatel and Ponte Corvo, the French chancellor, the viceroy of Italy, Prince Murat and three marshals - they constituted a group of officers of the emperor, on the head of each hat with feathers;
• The brothers and sisters of Napoleon, the maid of honor, the princesses, who make up the suite of the empress;
• Facing the viewer mother of Napoleon, Madame Su, Madame de Fontanges, Monsieur de Cosse-Brissac, Monsieur de Laville and General Bowman.

End of work on the picture

In 1807, the 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 coped with the task perfectly and created the right role for the emperor. Subsequently, the picture was put on display by the public, which gave it considerable popularity.

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

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