The painting the Coronation of Napoleon was painted by Jacques-Louis David between 1806-1808 while the coronation was on December 2, 1804. The official name of this painting is The Coronation of the Emperor Napoleon I and the Crowning of the Empress Joséphine in Notre-Dame Cathedral on December 2, 1804. There is another copy of the same exact painting at the Palace of Versailles. It is an art piece presented in the Louvre.
The placement of the people might seem odd because Napoleon coronates his wife, Josephine. Traditionally, the pope places the crown on the king during the coronation. Napoleon did not do that in history, he crowned himself, alluding that he is the one that is in control of everything. The artist does not want to reveal Napoleon’s arrogance in the painting. He let Napoleon wear the crown and let him crown Josephine while the pope used his hand to signal to bless unlike how he actually prayed in history.
Josephine is older than Napoleon by 6 years, but in the painting, she looks way younger than Napoleon. Napoleon and Josephine did not like the age difference, so they lied about their age on their marriage certificate. Napoleon’s mother, Letizia Bonaparte, did not like the age difference either, so she did not even show up during the coronation. In the painting, she magically appeared in the background the artist with a happy face. The divorce of Napoleon and Josephine happened in 1810 when Napoleon realize Josephine cannot have a child that he would like.
The back story of the painting is quite interesting. It is the first monarchy after the French Revolution where France is supposed to be a Republic. The painter of this painting painted something different in the other copy. One of Napoleon’s sisters is wearing a pink dress. Maybe because she was the only one who visited Napoleon when he was exiled.
The location of the coronation is a famous monument in France, the Notre Dame Cathedral. Before Napoleon, Notre Dame was never used as a coronation place, but just like how the pope attended to the coronation all the way from Rome, the religion acquiesced to Napoleon’s decision.
The size of the painting is 979cm x 621cm and the media used is oil paint. The painting of the coronation is commissioned by Napoleon himself. When viewing the finished piece, Napoleon stated, “it is not painting, we walk in it”,
There are many more details in the painting, for instance, the artist himself is in the painting as well. It is fascinating how a painting that records history can twist history, too. The stories of the past all ended up in a painting for the later generation to understand and to be a part of.
