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 any 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 (remember, there were no cameras back then). This is not a photograph. It's a very carefully 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 shouldn't be?