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A man with pale peach skin and dark hair wears a military uniform and stands in front of a desk in this vertical portrait painting. He nearly fills the composition so seems close to us, and he looks directly at us. His body is angled slightly to our left and he tucks his right hand, on our left, flat against his chest between the buttons of his jacket. His navy-blue waistcoat is white along the front where it is fastened with brass buttons along his chest. The jacket has red cuffs, gold epaulets on the shoulders, and three medals affixed to the chest. White britches end just below the knee, and white stockings covering his calves are wrinkled at the ankle above black shoes with brass buckles. A candle burns low in a lamp on an ornately carved and gilded desk behind the man. Books and papers are piled on the desk to our right. More papers and a thin sword rest on a chair in front of the desk to our right. The chair is also carved and gilded, and is upholstered with scarlet-red fabric decorated with gold bees. The legs of the chair push back the forest-green carpet underfoot. A tall clock stands on the wall opposite us and reads 4:13. A few capital letters are written on a scroll of paper on the chair, “COD.” The artist’s name is also written as if printed on a scroll of paper on the floor behind the desk to our left: “LVD.CI.DAVID OPVS 1812.”

The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812

Jacques-Louis David

West Building, Main Floor — Gallery 56

How do portraits influence the way we see historic figures? David shows Napoleon Bonaparte working tirelessly for the people of France. The clock reads 4:13, the early morning. The candles are almost extinguished. The emperor’s hair is disheveled, his stocking rumpled. He has spent the night drafting the Napoleonic Code, France’s first civil law code. David’s portrait creates a powerful myth of the leader, but it’s not the full story. Napoleon was a military genius whose code became the model of modern legal systems worldwide, but he also left millions dead in his quest to conquer Europe. He reestablished slavery in France’s colonies and stole art from around the globe. His complex legacy is still the subject of fierce debate.

Dive deeper

Careful examination of the details embedded in this portrait reveals the key to David’s success as a painter during the time of Louis XVI, Robespierre, and Napoleon: the artist’s ability to transform his subjects into politically powerful icons.

Napoleon is placed in the center of a vertical canvas dressed in his uniform as a colonel of the Foot Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard. His pose—the slightly hunched shoulders and hand inserted into his vest—contrasts to the formality of his costume. In addition, his cuffs are unbuttoned, his leggings wrinkled, and his hair disheveled. David, in a letter to the patron of this portrait, Alexander Douglas, the tenth Duke of Hamilton, explained that his appearance was designed to show that Napoleon had spent the night in his study composing the Napoleonic Code, an impression enforced by details, such as the flickering candles that are almost extinguished, the quill pen and papers scattered on the desk, and the clock on the wall which points to 4:13 a.m.

David strategically placed the sword on the chair to allude to Napoleon’s military success, while the prominent display of the word “Code” in his papers, suggests his administrative achievements. Other decorative details—the heraldic bees and the fleurs–de–lys—are symbols of French absolutism, and imply Napoleon’s power as ruler.

More information on this painting can be found in the Gallery publication French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I: Before Impressionism (PDF).

Object Data

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 203.9 × 125.1 cm (80 1/4 × 49 1/4 in.)

framed: 243.9 x 165.1 x 15.2 cm (96 x 65 x 6 in.)
framed weight: 63.957 kg (141 lb.)

Credit Line

Samuel H. Kress Collection

Accession Number

1961.9.15

Artists / Makers

Jacques-Louis David (artist) French, 1748 - 1825

Image Use

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Detail Information

Inscription

lower left: LVD.CI.DAVID OPVS / 1812; center right on scroll: CODE

Provenance

Commissioned by Alexander, marquis of Douglas [1767-1852, from 1819, 10th duke of Hamilton], Hamilton Palace, Strathclyde, Scotland;[1] by inheritance to his son, William Alexander Anthony Archibald Douglas, 11th duke of Hamilton [1811-1863], Hamilton Palace, Strathclyde, Scotland; by inheritance to his son, William Alexander Louis Stephen Douglas-Hamilton, 12th duke of Hamilton [1845-1895], Hamilton Palace, Strathclyde, Scotland; (Hamilton Palace Collection sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 17 June - 20 July 1882 (8 July), no. 1108); bought by (F. Davis), probably buying for Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th earl of Rosebery, [1847-1929], London;[2] his son, Albert Edward Harry Mayer Archibald Primrose, 6th earl of Rosebery [1882-1974], London; sold 15 June 1951 to (Wildenstein & Co., London and New York); sold February 1954 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[3] gift 1961 to NGA.

[1] Two of the three lists that David made of his works mention the NGA painting: "List B," compiled about 1815, describes it as "Le portrait en pied de l'Empereur représenté dans son Cabinet. Tableau pour l'Angleterre" (Schnapper, Antoine, et al., Jacques-Louis David 1748-1825, exh. cat., Louvre and Versailles, Paris, 1989: 20); "List C," dated 1819, refers to the original painting under no. "49. Napoléon en pied dans son cabinet.--Pour le marquis Douglas en Angleterre" and to David's copy of it under no. "50. Une répétition du même avec des changements dans l'habillement.--Pour M. Huibans" (Wildenstein, Daniel, and Guy Wildenstein, Documents complémentaires au catalogue de l'oeuvre de Louis David, Paris, 1973: no. 1938; Schnapper et al. 1989: 21).

[2] According to a 31 January 1977 letter from Sotheby Parke Bernet to David E. Rust, in NGA curatorial files, F. Davis was a London dealer who almost always purchased for the earl of Rosebery.

[3] The bill of sale (copy in NGA curatorial files) is dated February 10, 1954, and was for fourteen paintings, including Napoleon in his study; payments by the Foundation continued to March 1957. See also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/2148.

Associated Names

Christie, Manson & Woods, Ltd.
Davis, F.
Hamilton, Alexander, 10th Duke of
Hamilton, William Alexander Anthony Archibald, 11th Duke of
Hamilton, William Alexander Louis Stephen, 12th Duke of
Kress Foundation, Samuel H.
Rosebery, Albert E.H.M.A. Primrose, 6th Earl
Rosebery, Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl
Wildenstein & Co., Inc.

Exhibition History

1948: David. Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings, The Arts Council of Great Britain, Tate Gallery, London, and City Art Gallery, Manchester, 1948-1949, no. 23, repro.

1955: De David à Toulouse-Lautrec, Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, 1955, no. 17, repro.

1974: French Painting 1774-1830: The Age of Revolution, Grand Palais, Paris, Detroit Institute of Arts, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1974-1975, no. 36, repro.

1985: French Connections: Scotland and the Art of France, Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1985, no. 49, repro.

1989: Jacques-Louis David 1748-1825, Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1989-1990, no. 206, repro.

2005: Jacques-Louis David: Empire to Exile, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, 2005, no. 12, repro.

2006: Citizens and Kings: Portraits in the Age of Revolution, 1760-1830, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris; Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2006-2007, no. 24, repro.

2016: Loan for display with permanent collection, Art Institute of Chicago, 2016.

Bibliography

1824: Notice sur la vie et les ouvrages de M. J.-L. David. Paris, 1824: 72.

1826: A. Th. (Antoine Thibaudeau or Aimé Thomé de Gamond). Vie de David, Premier Peintre de Napoléon. Brussels, 1826: 184.

1826: Mahul, A. Annuaire nécrologique, ou complément annuel et continuation de toutes les biographies ou dictionnaires historiques, ... Année 1825. Paris, 1826: 140.

1827: Coupin, P.A. "Essai sur J.-L. David, peintre d'histoire." Revue enciclopédique. 61 vols. Paris, 1819-1835: 31(1826):56.

1835: Lenoir, Alexandre. "David. Souvenirs historiques." Journal de l'Institut Historique 3 (1835): 10.

1844: Philippoteaux, F. Le Siècle de Napoléon, galerie des illustrations de l'Empire. Paris, 1844: unpaginated.

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1846: "Le Napoléon de David." L'Illustration, 7 December 1846: 272.

1846: Marco de Saint-Hilaire, Emile. Souvenirs intimes du temps de l'Empire. Paris, 1846: 131-135.

1854: Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being an Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss.. 3 vols. Translated by Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake. London, 1854: 3:298.

1855: Delécluze, Etienne J. Louis David son école & son temps. Paris, 1855: 346-347.

1864: Seigneur, Jean du. "Appendice à la notice de P. Chaussard sur L. David." Revue universelle des arts 18 (1864): 365.

1867: David, Jules. Notice sur le Marat de Louis David suivie de la liste de ses tableaux dressée par lui-meme. Paris, 1867: 37.

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1895: Dayot, Armand. Napoléon raconté par l'image. Paris, 1895: 259-263.

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1930: Cantinelli, Richard. Jacques-Louis David 1748-1825. Paris and Brussels, 1930: 112, no. 123.

1940: Holma, Klaus. David, son évolution et son style. Paris, 1940: 79-80, 128, no. 129.

1941: Ledoux, C., and G. Lebard. "La décoration et l'ameublement du Grand Cabinet de Napoléon Ier aux Tuileries." Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français 192 (1941): no. 1.

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1952: Ledoux, C., and G. Lebard. "L'inventaire des appartements de l'empereur de Napoléon Ier aux Tuileries." Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français (1952): 186-204, esp. 192

1954: Hautecoeur, Louis. Louis David. Paris, 1954: 200.

1956: Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation 1951-56. Introduction by John Walker, text by William E. Suida and Fern Rusk Shapley. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1956: 64-67, no. 22, repro.

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1966: Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 2:398, color repro.

1967: Gonzales-Palacios, Alvar. David e la pittura napoleonica. Milan, 1967: 14, repro.

1968: Honour, Hugh. Neoclassicism. Harmondsworth, 1968: 178-179, repro.

1968: National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 31, repro.

1969: Hubert, Nicole, et al. Napoleon Exh. cat. Grand Palais, Paris, 1969: 51, no. 158, repro.

1969: Kirstein, Lincoln. "The Taste of Napoleon." Nelson Gallery and Atkins Museum Bulletin 4, no. 10 (1969): 21.

1969: Mesplé, Paul. "David et ses élèves toulousains." Archives de l'art français, 4th series, 24 (1969): 100-101.

1973: Verbraeken, Rene. Jacques-Louis David jugé par ses contemporains et par la posterité. Paris, 1973: 11, 18, repro.

1973: Wildenstein, Daniel, and Guy Wildenstein. Documents complémentaires au catalogue de l'oeuvre de Louis David. Paris, 1973: 190-191, 226, nos. 1642, 1645, 1648, 1651, 1938.

1974: Schnapper, Antoine, et al. De David à Delacroix. La peinture française de 1774 à 1830. Exh. cat. Grand Palais, Paris, 1974: unpaginated insert, no. 36 bis, repro.

1975: Burney, Fanny (Mme d'Arblay). Hemlow, Joyce, ed. The Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney. 6 vols. Oxford, 1975: 6:620-626.

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 96, repro.

1975: Haskell, Francis. "Un monument et ses mystères. L'art français et l'opinion anglaise dans la première moitié du XIXe siècle." Revue de l'Art 30 (1975): 61-76.

1975: Schnapper, Antoine, et al. French Painting 1774-1830: The Age of Revolution. Exh. cat. Detroit Institute of Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975:373-374, no. 36 bis, repro.

1977: Eisler, Colin. Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools Excluding Italian. Oxford, 1977: 352-358, fig. 331-333, color repro.

1977: Pope-Hennessy, John. "Completing the Account." Review of Colin Eisler, Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection, London 1977. Times Literary Supplement no. 3,927 (17 June 1977).

1979: Watson, Ross. The National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1979: 102, pl. 89.

1980: Brookner, Anita. Jacques-Louis David. London, 1980: 168-169, repro.

1980: Schnapper, Antoine. David témoin de son temps. Fribourg, 1980: 260-262, repro. (English translation, David, New York, 1980: 260-262, repro.

1982: Bleyl, M. Das Klassizistische Porträt. Gestaltungsanalyse am Beispiel J.-L. Davids in Bochumer Schriftern zur Kunstgeschichte. Frankfurt and Bern, 1982: I:86-87, repro.

1983: Bordes, Philippe, and A. Pougetoux. "Les portraits de Napoléon en habits impériaux par Jacques-Louis David." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 6th series, no. 102 (July-August 1983): 26-27.

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1985: Ford, Brinsley. "Pictures lost to the Nation." NACF Magazine 29 (Christmas 1985): 20, repro. 21.

1985: Nanteuil, Luc de. Jacques-Louis David. New York, 1985: 146, repro.

1988: Michel, Régis, and Marie-Catherine Sahur. David, l'art et le politique. Paris, 1988: 112, repro.

1989: Lévêque, Jean-Jacques. La vie et l'oeuvre de Jacques-Louis David. Courbevoye-Paris, 1989: 18, repro.

1989: Roberts, Warren. Jacques-Louis David, Revolutionary Artist. Chapel Hill, 1989: 171-173, repro.

1989: Schnapper, Antoine. Jacques-Louis David 1748-1825. Exh. cat. Musée du Louvre and Musée National du Chateau de Versailles:474-477, 520-521, nos. 206, 207, repro.

1991: Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 10, 185, 187, color repro.

1992: National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 176, repro.

1993: Johnson, Dorothy. Jacques-Louis David: Art in Metamorphosis. Princeton, 1993: 216-220, repro.

1993: Silver, Larry. Art in History. New York, 1993: 304, fig. 7.19

1997: Henderson, Anne. "Portraits & Personalities." Washington Parent (November 1997): 14.

2000: Eitner, Lorenz. French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I: Before Impressionism. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2000: 196-208, color repro.

2004: Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 350-351, no. 282, color repro.

2005: Baillio, Joseph, et al. The Arts of France from François Ier to Napoléon Ier. A Centennial Celebration of Wildenstein's Presence in New York. Exh. cat. Wildenstein & Co., Inc., New York, 2005: 11-12, fig. 4, 64, fig. 81, 74(not in the exhibition).

2013: Bollinger, Dennis. World History. Greenville, 2013: 362, color repro.

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2017: Jones, Leslie B. "James Monroe's White House State Furniture à la Française. White House History no. 44 (Winter 2017): 31, color repro.