Napoleonic Art

Propaganda:
Providing information aimed at influencing the
opinions or behaviors of people.

The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the

subject in the target audience to further a political
agenda. Napoleon had all of the paintings you will see
commissioned (meaning he paid to have them made, he
wanted to show a certain image to his subjects).
 Pointing with a slightly open hand
• Indicates benevolence, kindness,
forgiveness

• This is propaganda. Napoleon was not always forgiving or

kind. He once shot on a crowd of protestors outside of the
National Convention (he called it the “whiff of grapeshot”)
 Napoleon in the foreground
• Demonstrating qualities of leadership & courage

• He is always on a white horse as this conveys

wisdom, power and balance

• He used this as propaganda to show his soldiers he

was always with them in battle, not at the back like
other leaders.
Napoleon crowns himself Emperor
• This was propaganda for other European
leaders. It was meant to show that
Napoleon had absolute power and that the
chaos of the French Revolution was over.
 Napoleon as a father
• Napoleon is shown as a caring father figure here.
Meant to show he is a kind and caring leader

• He had these paintings made to convey an image of

being a father for France to counter his other
paintings with more powerful images of war and glory.
 “Napoleon Crosses the Alps”
• White powerful horse shows Napoleons power and success in battle
• In the corner there is an inscription in the rock that says “Hannibal” and “Bonaparte”
• Here Napoleon is trying to show his subjects he is just like the Roman Emperor
Hannibal who also crossed the Alps and had success in battle. Napoleon was
obsessed with the Romans.
Counter-Propaganda
• This was a painting
made by Paul
Delaroche in 1850. This
is how Napoleon
ACTUALLY crossed the
Alps (a horse could
never cross such steep
terrain). This painting
was made to counter
the legend Napoleon
has made for himself.