The commission specified a portrait of Napoleon standing in the uniform of the
First Consul, probably in the spirit of the portraits that were later produced by
Antoine-Jean Gros,
Robert Lefèvre (
Napoleon in his coronation robes) and
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (
Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne), but David was keen to paint an equestrian scene. The Spanish ambassador, Ignacio Muzquiz, informed Napoleon and asked him how he would like to be represented. Napoleon initially requested to be shown reviewing the troops but eventually decided on a scene showing him crossing the Alps. In reality the crossing had been made in fine weather and Bonaparte had been led across by a guide mounted on a mule. However, from the outset the painting was first and foremost
propaganda, and Bonaparte asked David to portray him "calm, mounted on a fiery steed" (
Calme sur un cheval fougueux), and it is probable that he also suggested the addition of the names of the other great generals who had led their forces across the Alps:
Hannibal and
Charlemagne.
Production from 1798 Few drafts and preparatory studies were made, contrary to David's normal practice. Gros, David's pupil, produced a small
oil sketch of a horse being reined in, which was a probable study for Napoleon's mount, and the notebooks of David show some sketches of first thoughts on the position of the rider. The lack of early studies may in part be explained by Bonaparte's refusal to sit for the portrait. He had sat for Gros in 1796 on the insistence of
Joséphine de Beauharnais, but Gros had complained that he had not had enough time for the sitting to be of benefit. David had also managed to persuade him to sit for a portrait in 1798, but the three hours that the fidgety and impatient Bonaparte had granted him did not give him sufficient time to produce a decent likeness. On accepting the commission for the Alpine scene, it appears that David expected that he would be sitting for the study, but Bonaparte refused point blank, not only on the basis that he disliked sitting but also because he believed that the painting should be a representation of his character rather than his physical appearance: The refusal to attend a sitting marked a break in the portraiture of Napoleon in general, with
realism abandoned for political
iconography: after this point the portraits become emblematic, capturing an ideal rather than a physical likeness. Unable to convince Napoleon to sit for the picture, David took a bust as a starting point for his features, and made his son perch on top of a ladder as a model for the posture. The uniform is accurate, as David was able to borrow the uniform and
bicorne worn by Bonaparte at Marengo. Two of Napoleon's horses were used as models for the "fiery steed": the mare "la Belle" which features in the version held at Charlottenburg, and the famous
grey Marengo which appears in those held at Versailles and Vienna. Engravings from
Voyage pittoresque de la Suisse served as models for the landscape. The first of the five portraits was painted in four months, from October 1800 to January 1801. On completion of the initial version, David immediately began work on the second version which was finished on 25 May, the date of Bonaparte's inspection of the portraits at David's Louvre workshop. Two of David's pupils assisted him in producing the different versions:
Jérôme-Martin Langlois worked primarily on the first two portraits, and
George Rouget produced the copy for Les Invalides.
Technique In contrast to his predecessors
François Boucher and
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, who employed a red or grey undercoat as a base colour to build up the painting, David used white background of the canvas directly underneath his colours, as some of his unfinished works show, such as his first attempt at a portrait of Bonaparte or his sketch of the
Tennis Court Oath. David worked using two or three layers. After having captured the basic outline with an
ochre drawing, he would flesh out the painting with light touches, using a brush with little paint, and concentrating on the blocks of light and shade rather than the details. The results of this technique are particularly noticeable in the original version of
Napoleon Crossing the Alps from Malmaison, especially in the treatment of the rump of the horse. With the second layer, David concentrated on filling out the details and correcting possible defects. The third and last layer was used for finishing touches: by blending of tones and smoothing the surface. David often left this task to his assistants.
Detail version, Berlin version, Vienna All five versions of the picture are of roughly the same large size (2.6 m × 2.2 m). Bonaparte appears mounted in the uniform of a general in chief, wearing a gold-trimmed bicorne, and armed with a
Mamluk-style sabre. He is wreathed in the folds of a large cloak which billows in the wind. His head is turned towards the viewer, and he gestures with his right hand toward the mountain summit.
Differences among the five versions In the original version held at Malmaison (260 × 221 cm; 102 × 87 in), Bonaparte has an orange cloak, the crispin (cuff) of his gauntlet is embroidered, the horse is a black and white
piebald, and the
tack is complete and includes a
Running Martingale. The
girth around the horse's belly is a dark faded red. The officer holding a sabre in the background is obscured by the horse's tail. Napoleon's face appears youthful. The painting is signed in the yoke of the breastplate: L. DAVID YEAR IX. The Charlottenburg version (260 × 226 cm; 102 × 89 in) shows Napoleon in a red cloak mounted on a chestnut horse. The tack is simpler, lacking the martingale, and the girth is grey-blue. There are traces of snow on the ground. Napoleon's features are sunken with the faint hint of a smile. The picture is signed L.DAVID YEAR IX. In the first Versailles version (272 × 232 cm; 107 × 91 in), the horse is a dappled grey, the tack is identical to that of the Charlottenburg version, and the girth is blue. The embroidery of the gauntlet is simplified with the facing of the sleeve visible under the glove. The landscape is darker and Napoleon's expression is sterner. The picture is not signed. The version from the Belvedere (264 × 232 cm; 104 × 91 in) is almost identical to that of Versailles but is signed J.L.DAVID L.ANNO X. The second Versailles version (267 × 230 cm; 105 × 90 in) shows a black and white horse with complete tack but lacking the martingale. The girth is red. The cloak is orange-red, the collar is black, and the embroidery of the gauntlet is very simple and almost unnoticeable. The scarf tied around Napoleon's waist is light blue. The officer with the sabre is again masked by the tail of the horse. Napoleon's features are older, he has shorter hair, and—as in the Charlottenburg version—there is the faint trace of a smile. The embroidery and the style of the bicorne suggest that the picture was completed after 1804. The picture is not dated but is signed L.DAVID. ==Influences==