The wrinkled carpet makes it seem as though the chair had just been pushed back. We're supposed to think that Napoleon wasn't expecting company—that he wasn't posing for an "official" portrait. It's almost as though David had taken an unplanned, casual snapshot of Napoleon at work (but remember, there were no cameras back then). This is not a spontaneous photograph. It's a very precisely painted image, and all the items in the painting have been carefully selected to convey a message about the emperor. Can you find something else that's wrinkled or messy in the picture that probably wouldn't be included in most formal portraits?

Put yourself in the artist's place. If you were painting a picture of your boss, who also happened to be the emperor of France and one of the most powerful men in the world, would you paint a portrait that shows he is careless about his personal appearance? What is David trying to say?

Do you think Napoleon posed for this portrait?  Do you think he was flattered by the portrayal?