Napoleon Bonaparte and the transition to Romanticism

Napoleon Bonaparte
and the Transition from Neoclassicism to Romanticism

Installation of the Conseil d'Etat (Council of
State) by the First Consul Napoleon
Bonaparte at the Petit Luxembourg, in
Paris (France). In December 1799.
When the Reign of Terror ended Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power

Jacques Louis David, The Emperor
Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries,
1812
National Gallery of Art
He was elected First Consul of the newly formed French Republic in 1799,
and from 1804-1815 he reigned as emperor of one of the greatest empires
in history

1812
Many of the leading artists in France were commissioned to create
artworks glorifying the emperor, and their works ushered in a transition
from Neoclassicism to Romanticism

1812
Jacques Louis David was one of the first to receive commissions from the
new leader

Jacques Louis David, The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812
Gilbert Stuart, Portrait of George Washington (The Landsdowne Portrait), 1796
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery
In this portrait he depicts Napoleon as a noble hero of the nation — a kind
of French counterpart to the American President George Washington

Dressed in the uniform of the Imperial Guard, he is shown in his office,
working late at night (judging by the candles, and the time on the clock: it’s
4:15)

The Code Napoléon (his
famous law code) can be
seen rolled up on the table

1812
David explained that his appearance (his hair is disheveled, his cuffs
are unbuttoned, and his leggings are wrinkled) was designed to show
that Napoleon had spent the night in his study composing the
Napoleonic Code

Jacques Louis David, The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812
Antoine Francois Callet, Portrait of Louis XVI, 1780
The painting is meant to provide a stark contrast to traditional portraits of
the French Monarchy, dispensing with pomp and ceremony, and replacing
it with an image of a hard working and virtuous leader of the people

Jacques Louis David,
Napoleon at Saint-Bernard
Pass, 1801
Kunsthistorisches Museum,
Vienna
David continued to serve Napoleon as his political image was
transformed into a larger-than-life Romantic hero

Pass, 1801
Vienna
Recalling the equestrian portraits of European Monarchs, and
of the Roman Emperors that preceded them, David shows
Napoleon on a rearing horse crossing the Alps at Saint
Bernard pass

Pass, 1801
Vienna
His great red cloak billows in the wind as he points upward in
a gesture that captures the spirit of unlimited aspiration

Pass, 1801
Vienna
No longer a noble leader of the people, Napoleon has been
transformed into a Romantic hero of outsized proportions

Pass, 1801
Vienna
Of course, the picture is a theatrical exaggeration of what
actually took place

Pass, 1801
Vienna
Napoleon actually crossed the pass on a donkey, wearing a
simple grey greatcoat, rather than the magnificent costume
pictured here

Pass, 1801
Vienna
But David has skillfully elevated this more prosaic event to
something more Romantic and grand, placing Napoleon on a
par with the conquerors of antiquity, namely Hannibal and
Charlemagne, whose names appear carved into the rocks in
the foreground

Jacques Louis David, Coronation of Napoleon, 1804
Louvre
In 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor in Notre Dame de Paris,
and Jacque Louis David was commissioned to commemorate the event in a
grandly scaled canvas

Dressed in full regalia, the emperor holds the crown aloft, while the Pope and
clergy give their blessing

Following in the footsteps of Charlemagne, who had been crowned Holy
Roman Emperor by the Pope in 800 AD, Napoleon has returned to the French
tradition of Monarchy, allied with the support of the Catholic Church

Antoine Gros,
Napoleon on the
Bridge at Arcole,1796
After Napoleon became Emperor he called upon a new
generation of artists to visualize the Napoleonic legend

Antoine Gros,
Napoleon on the
They forged a new dramatic style that came to be known as
Romanticism

Antoine Gros,
Napoleon on the
Antoine-Jean Gros was a student of David’s, but he pioneered a
new style that led to a new direction in art

Baron Antoine-Jean Gros, Napoleon Bonaparte Visiting the Plague-Stricken in Jaffa, 1804, oil on canvas, 209 x 280 inches (Musée du Louvre, Paris)
This painting depicts an episode from one of Napoleon’s campaigns in Syria

An outbreak of plague had stricken his troops, and Napoleon hoped to stem
the rising tide of panic by visiting some of the plague-stricken victims in
person

It was one of those “photo-ops” that politicians know how to manipulate (the
President visiting troops on Christmas, or paying a personal visit to families
hit hard by disaster) — and Gros knew how to milk it for all it was worth!

Painted on an enormous scale (17 ft high by 23 ft wide), Gros shows the
Emperor in a Mosque courtyard, surrounded by sick and dying men, and
figures in exotic Middle Eastern dress

Undaunted by the horror of the scene, the Emperor reaches out to touch the
open sore of one of the victims, making him appear like a Christ-like figure
with miraculous powers of healing

The gesture is based on traditional images of Doubting Thomas, where
Thomas reaches out to touch Christ’s wound to verify that it is real

To amplify the Emperor’s courage and compassion, the soldier behind him
holds a handkerchief to his nose to shield himself from the sickening smell

Of course none of this was true: in reality, Napoleon ordered the death of the
sickened prisoners, and he poisoned the infected soldiers

So Gros’ picture was a blatant work of propaganda, designed to promote the
Emperor’s public image as a compassionate ruler

So what makes this painting Romantic?

Gros’s pictures anticipates the characteristics of Romanticism in several ways

First of all, the exotic setting (the scene takes place in a Muslim Mosque)
evokes a mysterious mood that contrasts with the clarity and simplicity of
Neoclassicism

The lighting also creates a mysterious atmosphere, with its mood-enhancing
shadows, and dramatic spotlight effects

There is also a morbid fascination with the dead and dying victims that goes
against Neoclassicism’s emphasis on virtue and nobility

And finally, there is the style: in contrast to David’s polished finish, crisp
outlines, and balanced compositions, Gros’ work breaks with all of these
cardinal rules of Neoclassicism. All of this anticipated the new, revolutionary
style of Romanticism, that became a leading force in the 19th century

Napoleon Bonaparte and the transition to Romanticism

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