Left: Jacques-Louis David (French, 1748–1825). Bonaparte Crossing the Alps (Bonaparte franchissant le Grand- Saint-Bernard), 1800–1. Oil on canvas, 102 1/3 x 87 in. (261 x 221 cm). Collection of Château de Malmaison. (Photo: Courtesy RMN-GP)
Right: Kehinde Wiley (American, born 1977). Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps, 2005. Oil on canvas, 108 x 108 in. (274.3 x 274.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum; Partial gift of Suzi and Andrew Booke Cohen in memory of Ilene R. Booke and in honor of Arnold L. Lehman, Mary Smith Dorward Fund, and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund, 2015.53. © Kehinde Wiley. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum).
Jacques-Louis David meets Kehinde Wiley The Brooklyn Museum presents ‘Jacques-Louis David Meets Kehinde Wiley’, an exhibition pairing an iconic painting from the Museum’s collection—Kehinde Wiley’s ‘Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps’ (2005)—with its early nineteenth-century source image: Jacques-Louis David’s ‘Bonaparte Crossing the Alps’ (1800–1). January 24–May 10, 2020.]]>
Source: Brooklyn Museum
By displaying the two paintings together, in dialogue with each other for the very first time, the exhibition explores how ideas of race, masculinity, representation, power, and agency have played out across the history of Western portraiture. The presentation is organized by the Brooklyn Museum in collaboration with the Château de Malmaison, where the original version of David’s portrait is permanently displayed. Before traveling to the Brooklyn Museum, the two paintings were on view at the Château de Malmaison.
David’s famous portrait was commissioned in 1800 by King Charles IV of Spain in an effort to win the favor of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was then First Consul of France. In the two centuries since its commission, “Bonaparte Crossing the Alps” has inspired numerous interpretations, but none seem to resonate in contemporary culture as much as Wiley’s large-scale version.
David posed Napoleon in the tradition of equestrian portraits of historical commanders like Hannibal and Charlemagne, amplifying the grandeur of the portrait, which commemorated the First Consul and Reserve Army’s expedition through the Great Saint Bernard Pass, in the Alps. In the painting, Napoleon leads his soldiers from atop a rearing steed; in actuality he made this journey on the back of a mule. This is just one example of how Bonaparte Crossing the Alps constructed a strategic image of the General as a triumphant military leader while departing from historical accuracy.
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