Speakasso › Paintings › Napoleon Crossing the Alps
Napoleon Crossing the Alps
Jacques-Louis David, 1801
The First Consul on a rearing horse points ahead to the summit of the Great St Bernard Pass, while behind him a column of soldiers hauls cannon through the snow. The commission came from King Charles IV of Spain; Napoleon approved the idea but refused to sit: 'Nobody asks whether portraits of great men are good likenesses.' David dressed a mannequin in the uniform and painted the hero as he wished to be seen. Rocks by the hooves bear carved names: Bonaparte, Hannibal, Charlemagne. Five autograph versions of the painting exist.
What is in the painting
- Rearing horse. A pale horse rises on its hind legs, mane flying.
- Billowing cloak. The rider's orange-yellow cloak streams in the wind like a flag.
- Names on rock. At lower left, generals' names are carved into the stone.
Did you know? In reality Napoleon crossed the pass in fine weather on a mule led by a local guide.
About the painting
- Artist
- Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825)
- Year
- 1801
- Style
- Neoclassicism
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 261 × 221 cm
- Where to see it
- Château de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison
How to describe it in Speakasso
In Speakasso you describe the painting in your own words and an AI draws it again. These words are forbidden in this round — each one costs 15 points:
A description that scores high
A young general in a blue uniform and a gold-trimmed two-cornered hat sits on a rearing pale grey stallion, turning to us and pointing up to the right. His huge orange-yellow cape billows in the wind like a flag, and the steed's mane and tail fly. Behind them rise steep grey peaks under a dark stormy sky, with tiny soldiers hauling cannon. Names are carved in the stones at lower left. Polished, heroic oil painting.
The tricky part: Call the animal a rearing pale grey stallion and the garment a huge orange-yellow cape billowing like a flag.
The method behind it: what is painted first, then where things are, then colour and light, then the style. Read the full guide
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