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Careful examination of the details embedded in this portrait reveals the key to David’s success as a painter during the time of Louis XVI, Robespierre, and Napoleon: the artist’s ability to transform his subjects into politically powerful icons.

Napoleon is placed in the center of a vertical canvas dressed in his uniform as a colonel of the Foot Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard. His pose—the slightly hunched shoulders and hand inserted into his vest—contrasts to the formality of his costume. In addition, his cuffs are unbuttoned, his leggings wrinkled, and his hair disheveled. David, in a letter to the patron of this portrait, Alexander Douglas, the tenth Duke of Hamilton, explained that his appearance was designed to show that Napoleon had spent the night in his study composing the Napoleonic Code, an impression enforced by details, such as the flickering candles that are almost extinguished, the quill pen and papers scattered on the desk, and the clock on the wall which points to 4:13 a.m.

David strategically placed the sword on the chair to allude to Napoleon’s military success, while the prominent display of the word “Code” in his papers, suggests his administrative achievements. Other decorative details—the heraldic bees and the fleurs–de–lys—are symbols of French absolutism, and imply Napoleon’s power as ruler.

More information on this painting can be found in the Gallery publication French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I: Before Impressionism (PDF).

Object Data

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 203.9 × 125.1 cm (80 1/4 × 49 1/4 in.)

framed: 243.9 x 165.1 x 15.2 cm (96 x 65 x 6 in.)
framed weight: 63.957 kg (141 lb.)

Accession Number

1961.9.15

Artists / Makers

Jacques-Louis David (artist) French, 1748 - 1825

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Detail Information

Inscription

lower left: LVD.CI.DAVID OPVS / 1812; center right on scroll: CODE

Provenance

Commissioned by Alexander, marquis of Douglas [1767-1852, from 1819, 10th duke of Hamilton], Hamilton Palace, Strathclyde, Scotland;[1] by inheritance to his son, William Alexander Anthony Archibald Douglas, 11th duke of Hamilton [1811-1863], Hamilton Palace, Strathclyde, Scotland; by inheritance to his son, William Alexander Louis Stephen Douglas-Hamilton, 12th duke of Hamilton [1845-1895], Hamilton Palace, Strathclyde, Scotland; (Hamilton Palace Collection sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 17 June - 20 July 1882 (8 July), no. 1108); bought by (F. Davis), probably buying for Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th earl of Rosebery, [1847-1929], London;[2] his son, Albert Edward Harry Mayer Archibald Primrose, 6th earl of Rosebery [1882-1974], London; sold 15 June 1951 to (Wildenstein & Co., London and New York); sold February 1954 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[3] gift 1961 to NGA.

Exhibition History

1948
David. Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings, The Arts Council of Great Britain, Tate Gallery, London, and City Art Gallery, Manchester, 1948-1949, no. 23, repro.
1955
De David à Toulouse-Lautrec, Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, 1955, no. 17, repro.
1974
French Painting 1774-1830: The Age of Revolution, Grand Palais, Paris, Detroit Institute of Arts, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1974-1975, no. 36, repro.
1985
French Connections: Scotland and the Art of France, Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1985, no. 49, repro.
1989
Jacques-Louis David 1748-1825, Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1989-1990, no. 206, repro.
2005
Jacques-Louis David: Empire to Exile, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, 2005, no. 12, repro.
2006
Citizens and Kings: Portraits in the Age of Revolution, 1760-1830, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris; Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2006-2007, no. 24, repro.
2016
Loan for display with permanent collection, Art Institute of Chicago, 2016.

Bibliography

1824
Notice sur la vie et les ouvrages de M. J.-L. David. Paris, 1824: 72.
1826
A. Th. (Antoine Thibaudeau or Aimé Thomé de Gamond). Vie de David, Premier Peintre de Napoléon. Brussels, 1826: 184.
1826
Mahul, A. Annuaire nécrologique, ou complément annuel et continuation de toutes les biographies ou dictionnaires historiques, ... Année 1825. Paris, 1826: 140.
1827
Coupin, P.A. "Essai sur J.-L. David, peintre d'histoire." Revue enciclopédique. 61 vols. Paris, 1819-1835: 31(1826):56.
1835
Lenoir, Alexandre. "David. Souvenirs historiques." Journal de l'Institut Historique 3 (1835): 10.
1844
Philippoteaux, F. Le Siècle de Napoléon, galerie des illustrations de l'Empire. Paris, 1844: unpaginated.
1845
Blanc, Charles. Histoire des peintres français au dix-neuvième siècle. Paris, 1845: 211.
1846
"Le Napoléon de David." L'Illustration, 7 December 1846: 272.
1846
Marco de Saint-Hilaire, Emile. Souvenirs intimes du temps de l'Empire. Paris, 1846: 131-135.
1854
Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being an Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss.. 3 vols. Translated by Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake. London, 1854: 3:298.
1855
Delécluze, Etienne J. Louis David son école & son temps. Paris, 1855: 346-347.
1864
Seigneur, Jean du. "Appendice à la notice de P. Chaussard sur L. David." Revue universelle des arts 18 (1864): 365.
1867
David, Jules. Notice sur le Marat de Louis David suivie de la liste de ses tableaux dressée par lui-meme. Paris, 1867: 37.
1880
David, Jules. Le peintre Louis David, 1748-1825. Paris, 1880: 487, 647.
1895
Dayot, Armand. Napoléon raconté par l'image. Paris, 1895: 259-263.
1904
Saunier, Charles. Louis David, biographie critique. Paris, 1904: 108.
1930
Cantinelli, Richard. Jacques-Louis David 1748-1825. Paris and Brussels, 1930: 112, no. 123.
1940
Holma, Klaus. David, son évolution et son style. Paris, 1940: 79-80, 128, no. 129.
1941
Ledoux, C., and G. Lebard. "La décoration et l'ameublement du Grand Cabinet de Napoléon Ier aux Tuileries." Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français 192 (1941): no. 1.
1948
Cooper, Douglas. "Jacques-Louis David: A Bi-Centenary Exhibition." The Burlington Magazine 90 (1948): 277-280, repro.
1948
The Arts Council of Great Britain. David, 1748-1825. Exh. cat. Tate Gallery, London, and City Art Gallery, Manchester, 1948:26, no. 23, repro.
1949
Cooper, Douglas. "Letters - Jacques-Louis David." The Burlington Magazine 91 (1949): 175.
1949
Cooper, Douglas. "The David Exhibition at the Tate Gallery." The Burlington Magazine 91 (1949): 21-22.
1949
Rosenau, Helen. "Letters - Jacques-Louis David." The Burlington Magazine 91 (1949): 113-114.
1952
Ledoux, C., and G. Lebard. "L'inventaire des appartements de l'empereur de Napoléon Ier aux Tuileries." Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français (1952): 186-204, esp. 192
1954
Hautecoeur, Louis. Louis David. Paris, 1954: 200.
1956
Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation 1951-56. Introduction by John Walker, text by William E. Suida and Fern Rusk Shapley. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1956: 64-67, no. 22, repro.
1956
Walker, John. "The Nation's Newest Old Masters." The National Geographic Magazine 110, no. 5 (November 1956): 622, 624, 646, color repro. 647.
1957
Goodrich, Frank B. The Court of Napoleon. New York, 1957: 300-302.
1959
Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1959: 374, repro.
1960
The National Gallery of Art and Its Collections. Foreword by Perry B. Cott and notes by Otto Stelzer. National Gallery of Art, Washington (undated, 1960s): 10, repro.
1961
Walker, John, Guy Emerson, and Charles Seymour. Art Treasures for America: An Anthology of Paintings & Sculpture in the Samuel H. Kress Collection. London, 1961: 193-194, color pl. 184.
1962
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. Treasures from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1962: 116, color repro.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 242, repro.
1964
Markham, F. "Napoleon and his Painters." Apollo 80 (September 1964): 187-191.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 38.
1966
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 2:398, color repro.
1967
Gonzales-Palacios, Alvar. David e la pittura napoleonica. Milan, 1967: 14, repro.
1968
Honour, Hugh. Neoclassicism. Harmondsworth, 1968: 178-179, repro.
1968
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 31, repro.
1969
Hubert, Nicole, et al. Napoleon Exh. cat. Grand Palais, Paris, 1969: 51, no. 158, repro.
1969
Kirstein, Lincoln. "The Taste of Napoleon." Nelson Gallery and Atkins Museum Bulletin 4, no. 10 (1969): 21.
1969
Mesplé, Paul. "David et ses élèves toulousains." Archives de l'art français, 4th series, 24 (1969): 100-101.
1973
Verbraeken, Rene. Jacques-Louis David jugé par ses contemporains et par la posterité. Paris, 1973: 11, 18, repro.
1973
Wildenstein, Daniel, and Guy Wildenstein. Documents complémentaires au catalogue de l'oeuvre de Louis David. Paris, 1973: 190-191, 226, nos. 1642, 1645, 1648, 1651, 1938.
1974
Schnapper, Antoine, et al. De David à Delacroix. La peinture française de 1774 à 1830. Exh. cat. Grand Palais, Paris, 1974: unpaginated insert, no. 36 bis, repro.
1975
Burney, Fanny (Mme d'Arblay). Hemlow, Joyce, ed. The Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney. 6 vols. Oxford, 1975: 6:620-626.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 96, repro.
1975
Haskell, Francis. "Un monument et ses mystères. L'art français et l'opinion anglaise dans la première moitié du XIXe siècle." Revue de l'Art 30 (1975): 61-76.
1975
Schnapper, Antoine, et al. French Painting 1774-1830: The Age of Revolution. Exh. cat. Detroit Institute of Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975:373-374, no. 36 bis, repro.
1977
Eisler, Colin. Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools Excluding Italian. Oxford, 1977: 352-358, fig. 331-333, color repro.
1977
Pope-Hennessy, John. "Completing the Account." Review of Colin Eisler, Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection, London 1977. Times Literary Supplement no. 3,927 (17 June 1977).
1979
Watson, Ross. The National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1979: 102, pl. 89.
1980
Brookner, Anita. Jacques-Louis David. London, 1980: 168-169, repro.
1980
Schnapper, Antoine. David témoin de son temps. Fribourg, 1980: 260-262, repro. (English translation, David, New York, 1980: 260-262, repro.
1982
Bleyl, M. Das Klassizistische Porträt. Gestaltungsanalyse am Beispiel J.-L. Davids in Bochumer Schriftern zur Kunstgeschichte. Frankfurt and Bern, 1982: I:86-87, repro.
1983
Bordes, Philippe, and A. Pougetoux. "Les portraits de Napoléon en habits impériaux par Jacques-Louis David." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 6th series, no. 102 (July-August 1983): 26-27.
1983
Tait, A.A. "The Duke of Hamilton's Palace." The Burlington Magazine 125 (1983): 400-402, repro
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 416, no. 593, color repro.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 117, repro.
1985
Nanteuil, Luc de. Jacques-Louis David. New York, 1985: 146, repro.
1988
Michel, Régis, and Marie-Catherine Sahur. David, l'art et le politique. Paris, 1988: 112, repro.
1989
Lévêque, Jean-Jacques. La vie et l'oeuvre de Jacques-Louis David. Courbevoye-Paris, 1989: 18, repro.
1989
Roberts, Warren. Jacques-Louis David, Revolutionary Artist. Chapel Hill, 1989: 171-173, repro.
1989
Schnapper, Antoine. Jacques-Louis David 1748-1825. Exh. cat. Musée du Louvre and Musée National du Chateau de Versailles:474-477, 520-521, nos. 206, 207, repro.
1991
Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 10, 185, 187, color repro.
1992
National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 176, repro.
1993
Johnson, Dorothy. Jacques-Louis David: Art in Metamorphosis. Princeton, 1993: 216-220, repro.
1993
Silver, Larry. Art in History. New York, 1993: 304, fig. 7.19
1997
Henderson, Anne. "Portraits & Personalities." Washington Parent (November 1997): 14.
2000
Eitner, Lorenz. French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I: Before Impressionism. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2000: 196-208, color repro.
2004
Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 350-351, no. 282, color repro.
2005
Baillio, Joseph, et al. The Arts of France from François Ier to Napoléon Ier. A Centennial Celebration of Wildenstein's Presence in New York. Exh. cat. Wildenstein & Co., Inc., New York, 2005: 11-12, fig. 4, 64, fig. 81, 74(not in the exhibition).
2013
Bollinger, Dennis. World History. Greenville, 2013: 362, color repro.
2013
Lee, Simon. "A Newly Discovered Portrait of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David." Burlington 155, no. 1,327 (October 2013): 685, 690, nt. 1, color fig. 41, 46.
2017
Jones, Leslie B. "James Monroe's White House State Furniture à la Française. White House History no. 44 (Winter 2017): 31, color repro.

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