Shop art print and framed art Bonaparte franchissant les Alpes by Paul Delaroche

Bonaparte crossing the Alps was painted in 1848 by the French painter Paul Delaroche. The painting depicts Napoleon Bonaparte at the head of his army crossing the Alps on a mule, in the spring of 1800, during the second Italian campaign. There are five versions of the work; the copy dated 1848 and exhibited in the Louvre is considered to be the first original, while a second version, dated Nice 1850, belongs to the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and was long mistakenly considered to be the first version. Three other smaller versions hang in the Thiers Library in Paris, Buckingham Palace in London and in a private collection. The painting was inspired by Jacques-Louis David's Bonaparte franchissant le Grand-Saint-Bernard (1801-1803), in which David also shows Napoleon crossing the Great St Bernard Pass, but there are significant differences between the two conceptions of the same subject. Whereas David's Bonaparte is idealised in the manner of an ancient hero, Delaroche's is depicted realistically and without complacency, in the Romantic style that was in vogue at the time. Like David's work, Delaroche's painting was widely reproduced. The painting was criticised by several specialists on the subject for the realism of the scene. At its reception in London, English critics felt that Delaroche had failed in his attempt to convey Napoleon's genius through realistic means. Original painting in the Louvre, painted in 1848, sold in the United States, buyer unknown, bought by the [...]

 

This artwork is a painting from the classical period. It belongs to the romanticism style.

 

« Bonaparte franchissant les Alpes » is kept at Musée du Louvre, Paris, France.

 

Find the full description of Bonaparte franchissant les Alpes by Paul Delaroche on Wikipedia.