I chose to introduce you Bonaparte Crossing the Grand Saint-Bernard Pass, a painting from Jacques-Louis David, a French painter. It was created in 1800 and its dimensions are 271 x 232 cm. This painting was created when Napoleon Bonaparte was the First Consul of France, just after the coup d’état of the 9 November of 1799.
Jacques-Louis David belongs to the neoclassicism movement, which consist in making perfect lines, even if the colors of the paintings are sacrificed. And this artwork is typical of this movement. It shows Napoleon Bonaparte, riding his horse and crossing the Grand Saint-Bernard Pass, a pass located in the Alps. On the background of the artwork, we can notice soldiers of the French army who are crossing too the Grand Saint-Bernard Pass, carrying a barrel. And in the foreground, at the bottom of the painting we can read an inscription on the stone saying: Bonaparte, Annibal, Karolus Magnus (Charlemagne) imp.
I’m now going to describe the significant art elements. First, the tone is soft, there is no highly contrasting tones. It gives a gentle mood.
About the colors, excepting the red cloak, they are all cold with a huge amount of grey, blue, black…
The lines are soft, they indicate a movement of the horse, the clouds and the army. We can notice the wind blowing in the hairs of Bonaparte and in the tail of the horse.
Directions are vertical and horizontal and they bring about calm.
The size of this painting make Bonaparte look important because of his size comparing to the background.
Finally, the mass of the artwork is heavy in effect. Indeed, every surface is occupied by paint and details.
I’m now going to analyse the most significant principles. First, this artwork doesn’t contain so much variety. It’s mainly a mountain landscape. The contrast is made by Bonaparte, the only one who is represented with colors which stand out. There is dominance in this painting: Bonaparte again, the main character, who attracts the eye.
All the elements are organized into a unified artwork. The soldier are wearing the same clothes, the mountain’s landscape is composed of rocks with the same color… Harmony is also present in this painting. We can for instance notice the near clouds because the scene takes place in a mountain, and all the colors are dark.
The painting is mainly composed of the main character at the foreground, with the inscriptions at his feet. Then we notice the soldiers in the background who are crossing the pass. Finally, the proportions are realistic and near of the perfection.
This painting was commanded by the King of Spain to symbolize the friendly relationship between France and Spain. So Jacques-Louis David wanted to represent the perfect leader. In fact, this painting is considered as a stereotype of the picture of propaganda. Napoleon was the first Consul since one year and he wanted to deliver a good image.
That’s why Jacques-Louis David represented Napoleon in a heroic way: young, riding a proud horse, wearing a red cloak, the wind blowing in his hairs, remembering famous figures like Alexander for instance.
This feeling is reinforced by the inscriptions on the stone mentioning the famous figures that have succeeded in crossing the Alps before Napoleon (Annibal and Charlemagne), followed by the letters imp for imperator, which is a prestigious distinction.
Personally I appreciate this artwork for what it is: a painting of a future emperor sublimated. All the elements are well designed and well organized, the neoclassicism style, with its soft lines, permits to illustrate a splendid character. It is also a good illustration of the artist work, considered as the leader of the neoclassicism school.
But I dislike the use of this painting as a propaganda image, to influence the population. But I think that when a King offers you a huge amount of money in exchange for a painting, you can’t refuse (moreover in 1800…).
