| Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Antoine-Jean Gros |
| Year | 1796 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 130 cm × 94 cm (51 in × 37 in) |
| Location | Palace of Versailles,Versailles |
Bonaparte at the Pont d’Arcole (French:Bonaparte au Pont d’Arcole) is an oil-on-canvas painting executed in 1796 by the French artistAntoine-Jean Gros. It depicts an episode during theBattle of Arcole in November 1796, with GeneralNapoleon Bonaparte leading his troops to storm the bridge.
The painting presents a three-quarter-length image of Bonaparte, holding the flagstaff of theArmée d'Italie in his left hand and his sword in his right – on its blade is the inscriptionBonaparte, Armée d'Italie. He is dressed in the dark blue trousers and tunic of a general of theFirst French Republic, with a gold-embroidered red collar. Beneath them he wears a white shirt and a black neckscarf. He also wears a gold-fringedtricolor cummerbund and a square-buckled belt bearing his empty scabbard. The background suggests the smoke of battle, with a few houses in the distance on the left. The land bordering the river is painted in dark tones, with a smoking cannonball still visible.
Painted in Naples in 1796, the painting was commissioned byJoséphine, who was accompanying Napoleon in hisItalian Campaign. Napoleon could reportedly not sit still for extended periods of time as a model for the portrait; Joséphine solved this by allowing Napoleon to sit in her lap and embracing him for the duration required by Gros.[2] The painting was exhibited at theSalon of 1801.[3]
The painting passed through the collections of Napoleon himself and ofNapoleon III before being sequestered after the fall of theSecond French Empire in 1870. It was then reacquired by Napoleon III's wifeEugénie de Montijo in 1871, who eight years later gave it to theLouvre (now inventory number RF271). It passed to thechâteau de Compiègne in 1901, then finally thePalace of Versailles in 1938 (inventory number MV 6314).
Other versions at:
