Audio Stop 417

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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.”

Jacques-Louis David

The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812

West Building, Main Floor — Gallery 56

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The Emperor Napoleon in his Study at the Tuileries, by Jacques-Louis David, painted in 1812. Oil on canvas. The painting is just over 6 and a half feet high by 4 feet wide.

This description is about 2 and a half minutes long.

This full-length portrait shows a white man – Napoleon – standing in a study, looking directly at us from the center of the canvas. Around him are a desk, chair, papers, books, and a grandfather clock.

Let’s focus first on Napoleon himself, and then move on to the background.

Napoleon has a broad face, with white skin, flat pinkish cheeks, and a clean-shaven, rounded chin. His eyes are gray, with slight pouches underneath. His straight mouse-brown hair is slightly tousled; the front is brushed forward over the forehead.

His uniform jacket is navy blue with white panels at the front, gold epaulettes, and gold buttons. The cuffs are coral red, with more gold buttons; the button closest to the hand on each cuff is undone. The jacket is cut away over the belly to reveal the white waistcoat underneath. A few of the waistcoat buttons have been undone so he can slip his right hand inside. His right hand is tucked into the front of his waistcoat.

His white knee breeches are tight to his rather plump form. Under them he wears white stockings, slightly wrinkled at the ankle, and black shoes with gold buckles. His left leg is slightly forward.

Behind Napoleon, the room is dimly lit. He stands in front of a desk holding a gold candelabra with candles that have almost burnt out. Rolls of paper lie on the desk, including one with the letters C.O.D. visible. Another roll of paper lies on the floor under the desk, along with a big leather-bound book with the name Plutarque.

To the right is a grandfather clock, its face showing almost 4:15.

At bottom right of the canvas is a gilded gold chair with red velvet upholstery decorated with gold bees. The seat is angled towards Napoleon. A sword rests across the chair, its hilt pointing towards us.

The floor is covered with a bottle green velvet cloth, rumpled where some movement of the feet of the chair have disturbed it.

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