Museum-grade recreation · archival canvas · hand-finished · deep-zoom on request
Available to commission
Napoleon Crossing the Alps
Jacques-Louis David · 1748–1825Napoleon rears on a wild-eyed charger, cloak snapping in the wind, one hand pointing toward the mountain pass and his destiny. David's Neoclassical portrait is the very image of power and will.
Did you know
Napoleon actually crossed the Alps on a sure-footed mule in fine weather; he demanded to be shown calm upon a fiery horse, idealised rather than accurate.
The Story
Jacques-Louis David was a French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era.
In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away from Rococo frivolity toward classical austerity, severity, and heightened feeling, which harmonized with the moral climate of the final years of the Ancien Régime.
The Full Story
Full analysis
Jacques-Louis David painted this image of Napoleon at least five times between 1801 and 1805; the Malmaison version, conventionally dated 1801, was the first, commissioned as a diplomatic gift from Spain's Charles IV. It commemorates the May 1800 crossing of the Grand Saint-Bernard Pass — an event Napoleon actually made on a sure-footed mule in calm weather. David transforms it into pure political theatre: Bonaparte sits astride a rearing charger, arm flung toward the pass. The composition is built on a single dominant diagonal from the horse's hooves through Napoleon's arm to a vanishing point beyond the frame. Engraved names on foreground boulders — BONAPARTE, HANNIBAL, KAROLVS MAGNVS — insert Napoleon into a lineage of history's great Alps-crossing conquerors, the real subject being succession and legitimacy. Paul Delaroche's 1850 rebuttal, showing Napoleon slumped exhausted on a mule, is the standard demythologizing comparison taught alongside this work.
Technique & materials
Oil on canvas, roughly 261 x 221 cm. David used an ochre-toned underdrawing, built up local colour and modeling, and applied final glazes to unify tone. Napoleon refused to sit for the picture; David used a posed model to study the rearing horse's anatomy.
Provenance
Commissioned 1801 by the Spanish crown for the Royal Palace, Madrid. Joseph Bonaparte removed it in 1812 during the Peninsular War; brought it to New Jersey in 1815, then back to Europe in 1839. Bequeathed to the French state via Princess Eugénie Bonaparte in 1949, entering the Château de Malmaison. Four other autograph versions exist at Charlottenburg (Berlin), Versailles (two), and the Belvedere (Vienna).
Conservation history
The Malmaison version has undergone periodic surface cleaning and varnish treatment consistent with routine conservation; comparative technical study across the five versions has established their relative sequence and dating.
In dialogue with
The Heirloom
Each recreation is a strictly limited edition of twenty-five, hand-finished on archival canvas and issued with a signed Certificate of Authenticity carrying its own unique Heirloom №.
Explore the world of this masterwork
Before you commission
Is this the original Napoleon Crossing the Alps?+
No — this is a museum-grade, entirely hand-finished recreation of Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David, faithful to the original in scale, palette and brushwork. The original remains in a public collection; yours is made, by private commission, to hang on your own walls.
How is each piece made?+
Every commission is hand-finished on archival canvas, framed to order, and issued with a signed Certificate of Authenticity carrying a unique Heirloom №. Materials, size and finish are chosen with you during a private viewing.
How long does a commission take?+
Typically 30–45 days from confirmation. We take a 50% advance to begin the work, with the balance due on completion, followed by white-glove delivery.
What does Napoleon Crossing the Alps cost?+
Commissions for this masterwork begin from ₹50,000. Final pricing depends on the size and finish you choose, confirmed during your private viewing.
Kindred masterworks
Continue the viewing.
Own Napoleon Crossing the Alps, recreated to museum grade. ArtzFolio ∞ Infinity reproduces Napoleon Crossing the Alps, painted 1801 by Jacques-Louis David, on hand-primed archival canvas, finished by the hand of our atelier and numbered as a strictly limited Heirloom edition (Heirloom № 6055). Available in your chosen dimensions, frame and finish, from ₹50,000, delivered across India with white-glove care. Napoleon actually crossed the Alps on a sure-footed mule in fine weather; he demanded to be shown calm upon a fiery horse, idealised rather than accurate.
See more from Jacques-Louis David and the world of Neoclassicism, or search the Infinity Archive for every related masterpiece. Ready to begin? Request a private viewing and reserve your Heirloom № in your name.
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