Framed Napoleon Crossing The Alps by Jacques-Louis David

Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David is one of the most famous and dramatic depictions of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon is shown mounted on a rearing white horse, wearing a billowing cloak and pointing confidently upward, as if leading his troops through the treacherous Great St. Bernard Pass during the 1800 campaign against Austrian forces. The work is a piece of political propaganda rather than a literal record — in reality, Napoleon crossed the Alps on a mule, wearing far less glamorous attire. David’s neoclassical style emphasizes heroic grandeur: crisp lines, rich colors, and an idealized figure of the leader as calm and in control amid the swirling chaos of the landscape.