Napoleon as Military Hero

In this painting from 1800–1801, Napoleon Crossing the Alps at St. Bernard, Jacques-Louis David reminds the French of Napoleon’s heroic military exploits. Napoleon is a picture of calm and composure while his horse shows the fright and energy of the moment. David painted this propagandistic image shortly after one of his former students went to the guillotine on a trumped-up charge of plotting to assassinate the new French leader. The former organizer of republican festivals during the Terror had become a kind of court painter for the new regime. (Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany / Bridgeman Images.)