Bonaparte Crossing the Alps

Painting information
Artist	-
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Bonaparte Crossing the Alps is an 1848 oil-on-canvas portrait by French artist Paul Delaroche. The painting depicts Napoleon Bonaparte leading his army across the Alps, on a mule, a journey Napoleon and his army of soldiers took in the spring of 1800 in an attempt to surprise the Austrian army in Italy.

It was inspired by another painting, Napoleon Crossing the Alps, painted in five variations by another French artist, Jacques-Louis David, between 1801 and 1805. David's works also showed Napoleon's journey through the Great St Bernard Pass, but the two differ in that in Bonaparte Crossing the Alps, Napoleon is seen, very cold and downcast, on a mule, whereas David's painting depicts Napoleon in a heroic pose on his horse, in a pristine uniform. Delaroche claimed that he painted, and was commissioned to paint, the artwork with realism in mind, rather than showing Napoleon in a highly idealised context, as in David's fanciful, equestrian versions, that were quite far from the truth.

Historical background

Battle of the Pyramids by Francois-Louis-Joseph Watteau depicts a battle of the same name which was major conflict of Napoleon's Egyptian military campaign.

In March of 1798, Napoleon made a proposal regarding the invasion and conquering of Egypt, which was, at the time, a province of the Ottoman Empire. The advantage of such a military and political action promised benefits for France, in that it would secure French trade interests, and debase any possible British access to India if the French succeeded in seizing Egypt. The decision was made to inade, and, by July 1 of that same year, Napoleon had landed on the shores of Egypt. However, after a lengthy chain of conflicts that involved heavy casualties, the campaign resulted in an Ottoman-British victory, and Napoleon was forced to return to France.

He returned to find that, while he was in Egypt, Austrian forces had been able to retake Italy. He then proceeded to design a plan to enter Italy secretly, in order to launch a surprise assault on the Austrian army, an attack they could not possibly prepare for, and gain the upper hand in the battle that was bound to ensue.

Napoleon decided that the Alps would serve as the best route, because it could never be expected that an army as great as Napoleon's could traverse such a mountain range, and would therefore make entrance into Italy more easy.

After much discussion and thought about which path was to be taken through the Alps, based in regards to length versus difficulty, it was decided that the Great St Bernard Pass was the best option because it was the shortest route, by far, and would allow Napoleon to reach his destination as quickly as was possible through the Alps.

On 15th May 1800, Napoleon began the journey through the Alps, by way of the Great St Bernard Pass, accompanied by an army of forty thousand (thirty five thousand light artillery and infantry, five thousand cavalry), not including the other, heavier field artillery and baggage trains. During the five days spent traversing the Pass, Napoleon's army consumed almost 22,000 bottles of wine, more than a tonne and a half of cheese, and around 800 kilograms of meat. Napoleon is known to have ridden a mule on his journey, rather than a horse, as is shown in David's version, and this is the basis of Delaroche's claim that Bonaparte Crossing the Alps is a more realistic portrayal of the scene.

Painting

Background

The painting was commissioned by Arthur George, Third Earl of Onslow, after Delaroche and George visited the Louvre art museum in Paris, where they saw David's work (which had only recently been re-hung in the museum after a reignition of interest in Napoleon, nearly 40 years after he was exiled^[I]), and commented on how unrealistic it was. After this, George, who owned a sizable collection of Napoleonic works, commissioned Delaroche to create a more realistic depiction.

Delaroche based his earlier works on figures and subjects from the Bible's Old Testament, but, later, his interests became focused on English and French history, and who 'combined colouristic skill with an interest in detailed scenes from history'.Bonaparte Crossing the Alps, which was painted roughly eight years before Delaroche's death, is one of many examples of Delaroche's inspiration in historical events.

The commissioning aside, Delaroche was interested and inspired to create the work because he felt that he both looked like Napoleon, and that his achievements were comparable to Napoleon's, making it reasonable for him to be interested in Napoleon and his exploits. This considered, it is likely that Delaroche's painting was indeed accurate to the journey Napoleon undertook; the clothes Napoleon wore, the clothes his guide and the other visible members of his party wear, and other even smaller details were probably discovered and researched by Delaroche, and applied as necessary to the work, to make it all the more historically true.

Content

Delaroche's picture of Napoleon crossing the Alps

Unconscious of the dreary wastes around, Of sleet that pierces with each fitful blast, The icy peaks, the rough and treacherous ground, Huge snow-drifts by the whirlwind's breath amassed, Through which the jaded mule with noiseless tread, Patient and slow, a certain foothold seeks, By the old peasant-guide so meekly led; Moves the wan conquerer, with sunken cheeks, O'er heights as cold and lonely as his soul,- The chill lips blandly set, and the dark eyes Intent with fierce ambition's vast control, Sad, keen and thoughtful of the distant prize; With the imperial robes and warlike steed, That face ne'er wore such blended might and need! — X, X, H.T. Tuckerman's poem, describing Delaroche's portrayal.

Napoleon is seen wearing clothing appropriate for his location: over his uniform he wears a long topcoat which is wrapped firmly around him, with a gold-trimmed, black hat on his head. On the left of the mule is his guide, Pierre Nicholas Dorsaz. Elements of the cold, harsh environment of the Alps are apparent: distant mountains capped in snow rise up behind Napoleon and his troupe, while a steep cliff face appears on his left, and the path underfoot has a thick layer of ice. More members of Napoleon's army can be seen riding up the slope from behind him; a man, thickly clothed, on a white horse, and another, harder to see, on a chocolate brown horse close behind the first.

Napoleon is shown to be as he would have been high up in the mountains, as a mortal and imperiled man. While this seems in some way demeaning to Napoleon's figure, and contrasts in the extreme with David's version, which shows Napoleon impervious to the cold, and in a heroic light, Delaroche's artwork was not intended to portray him in a hostile or unbecoming way; Delaroche wanted to depict Napoleon as a credible man, who suffered and underwent human hardship too, on his most daring exploits, and felt that making him appear as he really would have been in the situation would by no means debase or diminish Napoleon's iconic status or legacy, but rather make him a more admirable person.

Analysis

Along with the mass of white seen behind Napoleon, the amber sunlight glow, originating from the West of Napoleon's troupe, is the central source of lighting in the painting. It introduces contrast when coupled with shadow, and, by illumination, highlights key aspects of the scene. Napoleon and the mule he is saddled on are richly textured visually by the contrasting light and shade, as is the guide leading the mule. The ice and snow layers, two, are made whitter by the sunshine from the West, brightening the whole scene. However, the overhanging cliff on the left of Napoleon's guide and the legs of the mule both cast shadows to balance the lighting scheme of the painting.

The textural hues and schemes that Delaroche uses in this painting are quite detailed and well considered, especially in regards to the most important figures; such aspects of the work were described as being '...rendered with a fidelity that has not omitted the plait of a drapery, the shaggy texture of the four-footed animal, nor a detail of the harness on his back' by The Gentleman's Magazine. The mule, especially its fur, was intensely textured and detailed to make the fur look visually rough and bristly, and the mule itself weary and worn. The same techniques were applied to the red and yellow adornments draped and hung over the animal. The central detail of Napoleon is applied to his coat, in its ruffles and creases. Much detail and textural diversity is given to the guide too, most particularly to his face, his green, wind-caught tunic, and his leather boots.

Criticism

Upon its completion, the work was taken to England, and there, in 1850, it was reviewed by the critic of the Atheneum^[II], a literary magazine.. The magazine's comments on the work indicated that, while they praised the painting for several of its features, they critisised Delaroche, for various reasons:

An Officer in a French costume, mounted on a mule, is conducted by a rough peasant through a dangerous pass, whose traces are scarcely discernible through the deep-lying snow; and his aide-de-camp is just visible in a ravine of the towering Alps. These facts are rendered with a fidelity that has not omitted the plait of a drapery, the shaggy texture of the four-footed animal, nor a detail of the harness on his back. The drifting of the embedded snow, the pendent icicle which a solitary sun-ray in a transient moment has made-all are given with a truth which will be dear to those who exalt the Dutch School for like qualities into the foremost rank of excellence. But the lofty and daring genius that led the humble Lieutenant of Ajaccio to be ruler and arbiter of the destinies of the larger part of Europe will be sought in vain by M. Delaroche.

Others were displeased with Delaroche's work at the time in general, and, in part, Bonaparte Crossing the Alps, criticising what was described as his 'lowered standards in art'. Such critics included The Gentleman's Magazine, who wrote the following text about Delaroche:

...These all reveal a modification in his style, but not a happy one. His more recent works are not calculated to restore him the sympathy he had lost. It must be confessed that Delaroche is an artist of talent rather than a genius. Education and diligent study qualified him to be a painter, but not an artist, in the true sense of that word. For he has failed in the true mission of the artist-that of advancing the education of the masses; when it was in his power to give an impulse, he yielded to it; he has been a reflection, but not a light; and instead of elevating the public to himself, he has lowered himself to the public.

Gallery

• 
  Napoleon in Delaroche's version, seen raggedly clothed, and covered up to hold the cold at bay.
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  Here, in David's version, Napoleon wears a colourful, pristine garb, complete with a gold cape, and shows no sign of being either cold nor tired.
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  Napoleon's mule is led along by Napoleon's peasant guide.
• 
  Close detail of Napoleon's face, and that of his horse, from David's version.

Notes

I^ The painting was rehung as a result of the revival of Napoleon's reputation, and a fresh interest into his exploits. However, before this, in 1815, the year Napoleon was exiled, Napoleonic-themed art was proscribed for artists and painters, as he was not well liked because of events that had occurred in the few years immediately preceding 1815, and Napoleon's exile. It was only truly by the 1830s that artwork related to the emperor was being created once more. As such, after being removed from the walls of the Louvre around 1815, David's version had been re-hung by the time Delaroche observed it.

II^ The Athenæum was a widely read literary magazine or periodical that was published in London between 1828 and 1923. Published weekly, the Athenæum grew and expanded to become one of the most influential and most widely read periodical of the Victorian era. Most of its content was composed of articles, reviews, and scientific and political news, among others. The topics covered in these texts included: works of literature, fine art, music and theatre, science and politics.

References

• DELAROCHE, Paul - Bonaparte Crossing the Alps
• Chandler, D. G. Napoleon. Leo Cooper, 2002. ISBN 0-85052-750-3.
• Bonaparte Crossing the Alps, 1848, Paul Delaroche (1797-1856)
• Bonaparte Crossing the Alps; Delaroche, Paul; 1848
• Britt, A.B. The Wars of Napoleon. Square One Publishers, Inc., 2003. ISBN 0757001548.
• Herold, J.C. The Age of Napoleon . Houghton Mifflin Books, 2002. ISBN 0618154612.
• Dodge, T.A. Napoleon: A History of the Art of War. Adamant Media Corporation, 2001. ISBN 1402195176
• The American Whig Review, by the Making of America Project. Published first in 1845.
• Alison, Archibald History of Europe from the Commencement of the French Revolution in MDCCLXXXIX to the Resoration of the Bourbons in MDCCCXV. W. Blackwood and sons, 1854.
• Thiers, M.A. History of the Consulate and the Empire of France Under Napoleon. Kessinger Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1417956216.
• Murray, C.J. Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850. Taylor & Francis, 2004. ISBN 1579584225
• F. Jefferies The Gentleman's Magazine. Published 1856.
• Quilley, Geoff; Bonehill, John Conflicting Visions: War and Visual Culture in Britain and France, C. 1700-1830 Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2005. ISBN 0754605752.
• Kelley, T.M. Reinventing Allegory. Cambridge University Press, 1997. ISBN 0521432073
• Tuckerman, H.T. Poems. Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, 1851.

External Links

• Zoomable image of the artwork