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Lot Essay
This portrait of Napoleon is taken from David's celebrated painting, known as Le Sacre de l'empereur Napoléon 1er et couronnement de l'Impératrice Joséphine dans la cathédrale Nôtre Dame de Paris, le 2 Decembre 1804 (Paris, Musée du Louvre), which he executed in 1805-7. When the monumental canvas, measuring 6.21 x 9.79 metres, was exhibited at the Salon of 1808, Napoleon praised it for its life-like qualities, exclaiming '... ce n'est pas de la peinture, on marche dans ce tableau'. David executed a replica, of similarly large proportions, between 1808 and 1822 (now in the Musée national des château de Versailles et de Trianon, M.V.7156, see fig.1). The present work is a precise reworking of the central figure from Le Sacre, much reduced in scale. Napoleon is shown in isolation in the act of crowning Josephine. He stands holding the crown aloft, wearing full Imperial regalia and crowned with golden laurel leaves in imitation of the Antique (for a discussion of the Imperial Coronation robes see the following lot).
The historic ceremony, depicted by David, took place in the cathedral of Notre Dame, on 2 December 1804, after Napoleon had proclaimed himself 'Emperor of the French' on 18 May of the same year. Yet in spite of his dominant position Napoleon realised that he needed his title consecrated by religious authority in order to legitimize his dynasty in the eyes of other European monarchs. Cardinal Fesch, Napoleon's uncle, therefore arranged for Pope Pius VII to travel to Paris in order to perform the anointing of the new Emperor. The ceremony, however, was far from conventional, as Napoleon had no intention of appearing to be subject to papal authority. The Pope was merely required to anoint the Emperor, while the actual coronation was to be performed by Napoleon himself. Although this arrangement had been previously agreed by all parties, the moment that Napoleon grasped the laurel wreath of gold and crowned himself, before taking up Josephine's crown and placing it on her head, was seen by some as a daring act of self legitamization and a provocative expression of power on the part of the new Emperor.
Napoleon was well aware of the propoganda value of Imperial imagery and he thus turned to his favourite artist, David, whom he commissioned to record the coronation for posterity in 1805. The artist had not himself been present at the ceremony, and he set about his composition by making numerous preparatory drawings, which reveal a number of alternative solutions to the question of how to render the scene. David initially chose to depict the moment when Napoleon crowns himself as the main focus of the action (see for example two preparatory drawings in the Cabinet des dessins, Musée du Louvre, Paris, RF 4377-8). At some point after 1806, however, David changed his mind, possibly because of the controversy surrounding the Emperor's bold act, and instead he began to explore the subsequent episode when the Emperor crowns his wife, Josephine. The reasons for this change of heart are unclear, and evidence suggests that later in life David regretted the decision. The revised composition shows a more gallant, even chivalric Emperor, sharing his newfound status with his spouse. Another preparatory drawing shows how David realised the exact pose of the figure of Napoleon (Lille, palais des Beaux-Arts, pl. 1192, see S. Laveissière, Le Sacre de Napoléon peint par David, exhibition catalogue, Paris, Musée du Louvre, October 2004-January 2005, fig. 43, p. 102).
Unlike these preparatory sketches, mostly executed in black chalk on paper, the present work is one of two small-scale oil portraits of the Emperor taken from Le Sacre, most likely executed by David's studio, directly from the original work. They were probably made for the production of a lithograph, published by A. Bridge of London, in July 1824. David had sold the rights to engrave his picture in 1821 for 15,000 francs, no doubt responding to the commercial possibilities following the death of Napoleon at St Helena the same year, which saw a huge increase in demand for images of the former emperor. A comparison of the two small-scale portraits of Napoleon (the present work, and that sold at Sotheby's, New York, 24 October 1996, lot 74) with the print strongly suggests that the two canvases were painted directly from David's full-scale work. The free handling of the ornamentation on the outer robe, for example, corresponds with the energetic brushwork of David's original, while it appears more simplified and schematic in the lithograph.
The historic ceremony, depicted by David, took place in the cathedral of Notre Dame, on 2 December 1804, after Napoleon had proclaimed himself 'Emperor of the French' on 18 May of the same year. Yet in spite of his dominant position Napoleon realised that he needed his title consecrated by religious authority in order to legitimize his dynasty in the eyes of other European monarchs. Cardinal Fesch, Napoleon's uncle, therefore arranged for Pope Pius VII to travel to Paris in order to perform the anointing of the new Emperor. The ceremony, however, was far from conventional, as Napoleon had no intention of appearing to be subject to papal authority. The Pope was merely required to anoint the Emperor, while the actual coronation was to be performed by Napoleon himself. Although this arrangement had been previously agreed by all parties, the moment that Napoleon grasped the laurel wreath of gold and crowned himself, before taking up Josephine's crown and placing it on her head, was seen by some as a daring act of self legitamization and a provocative expression of power on the part of the new Emperor.
Napoleon was well aware of the propoganda value of Imperial imagery and he thus turned to his favourite artist, David, whom he commissioned to record the coronation for posterity in 1805. The artist had not himself been present at the ceremony, and he set about his composition by making numerous preparatory drawings, which reveal a number of alternative solutions to the question of how to render the scene. David initially chose to depict the moment when Napoleon crowns himself as the main focus of the action (see for example two preparatory drawings in the Cabinet des dessins, Musée du Louvre, Paris, RF 4377-8). At some point after 1806, however, David changed his mind, possibly because of the controversy surrounding the Emperor's bold act, and instead he began to explore the subsequent episode when the Emperor crowns his wife, Josephine. The reasons for this change of heart are unclear, and evidence suggests that later in life David regretted the decision. The revised composition shows a more gallant, even chivalric Emperor, sharing his newfound status with his spouse. Another preparatory drawing shows how David realised the exact pose of the figure of Napoleon (Lille, palais des Beaux-Arts, pl. 1192, see S. Laveissière, Le Sacre de Napoléon peint par David, exhibition catalogue, Paris, Musée du Louvre, October 2004-January 2005, fig. 43, p. 102).
Unlike these preparatory sketches, mostly executed in black chalk on paper, the present work is one of two small-scale oil portraits of the Emperor taken from Le Sacre, most likely executed by David's studio, directly from the original work. They were probably made for the production of a lithograph, published by A. Bridge of London, in July 1824. David had sold the rights to engrave his picture in 1821 for 15,000 francs, no doubt responding to the commercial possibilities following the death of Napoleon at St Helena the same year, which saw a huge increase in demand for images of the former emperor. A comparison of the two small-scale portraits of Napoleon (the present work, and that sold at Sotheby's, New York, 24 October 1996, lot 74) with the print strongly suggests that the two canvases were painted directly from David's full-scale work. The free handling of the ornamentation on the outer robe, for example, corresponds with the energetic brushwork of David's original, while it appears more simplified and schematic in the lithograph.