This is Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David. It’s the most famous portrait of the brutal French military leader turned emperor. But in reality, this painting is a giant lie and just another reason the artist is considered a sellout.

Napoleon wasn’t just a genius military commander, he was also a master propagandist. Here's the truth about this painting. Napoleon didn’t ride up the alps on a horse, he rode up on a mule. He also didn’t even lead his troops over the Alps at all, he followed them a couple of days later. And the weather was apparently nice, not treacherous as the painting suggests.

This painting depicts this event formally known as the Battle of Marengo where the French took the Austrians by surprise and won. In celebration of his recent victory and becoming First Consul an exchange of gifts took place between Charles IV of Spain and Napoleon to re-establish diplomatic relations. The original portrait was commissioned by King Charles and gifted to Napoleon. This piece is one of the many copies Napoleon had David create for him afterward.

Many have raised doubts about the artists motives, questioning how he could oppose the monarchy so strongly only to later endorse someone like Napoleon, who forcefully rose to power and made himself a tyrannical dictator. Though his revolutionary paintings were so raw and intense, which makes it difficult to believe that he didn't genuinely believe in it.

Napoleon may not have sat for this portrait but David's painting portrayed him exactly as he wanted to be seen: The ideal savior for a nation that was desperate and in the trenches. Thank you for watching!

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Arcadia - Wonders by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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Darkest Child by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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