“One walks in this picture!" The Coronation of Josephine by Jacques-Louis David
Last edited Sun Oct 18, 2015, 09:22 AM - Edit history (1)
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he Consecration of Napoleon I and Coronation of the Empress Josephine, 1805-07, Louvre, Paris
This had to be good and the artist knew it. He had snagged the most coveted commission of his time by a verbal request from the most powerful man in Europe. But David, throughout his long and productive life as an artist, had proved adept at navigating, and succeeding, in a very chaotic and dangerous era in France. And he had the benefit of being already greatly admired by Napoleon. Art historian Simon Schama has coldly described him as the “official glamorizer” of his time (whichever famous one he was glamorizing) and a “fantastic propagandist, a “window dresser of Robespierre’s tyranny.” He was most certainly what we could call “a survivor.” Even with a short stint in prison.
Well, at least he didn’t get marched off to the guillotine, but died at age 77 in Brussels where he settled after being exiled from France once Napoleon fell. His disturbing masterpiece “Death of Marat” is in Brussels’ Musee des Beaux Arts, not the Louvre -- what a last laugh on the French for banning the picture of the revolutionary Marat and making its creator flee...however, I shed no tears over the fate of the artist who enthusiastically signed death warrants for innocent people during The Terror...
In planning for this major work , David might have been inspired by this
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The Coronation of Queen Marie de Medici. Peter Paul Rubens. 1664. Louvre. Paris.
David’s massive opus in the neoclassical style stands 20 feet tall and 33 feet wide, the second largest painting in the Louvre today (and, after the Mona Lisa, the museum’s most viewed).
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Napoleon is front and center in this picture but a viewer’s eyes can be easily diverted to Josephine and her magnificent red velvet robe lined with ermine and tasseled at its edges. She is attended by Napoleon’s sisters and Josephine’s daughter seen holding the hand of her young son (who tragically died at age 5 soon after this work was done). The women’s beautiful silk Empire style gowns, with ruffs at the shoulders, high waists and revealing bosoms, are historical fashion delights. David dutifully includes the fleur de lys bee design (symbolizing France) in the gorgeous pillow before Josephine and underneath her on the carpeting.
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The interesting axial design -- a horizontal presentation with soaring verticals within the painting -- bestows magnificence and dignity along with the exceptional richness of the red, gold, green, white and black that the artist uses. The vertical pilasters, tall crucifix and sceptres held by another bishop and courtiers enhance the proceeding even more. However, you do wonder how all those tall candles could possibly have been lit. David might have taken some artistic license here by making them much taller than they actually were, as an “improvement” to the vertical balance of his tableau.
One of my favorite characters in this painting is Josephine’s handsome son, Eugene (seen in profile), a military officer in successful service to the Emperor, whose dashing sideburns and devoted look at the scene more than makes up for the corrupt and devious Talleyrand in front of him (who is smirking and appears to have a curious feathered animal on his head). Eugene is depicted as a hero -- which he unarguably was -- standing nobly erect with his outstretched hand on the hilt of a finely crafted sword.
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The artist kindly renders Josephine as a younger and slimmer woman and in his final version he does not include her loose curls. She is flawless. Her neater hairdo is artistically maneuvered because the diadem, earrings and matching comb are quite enough to add glitter to an already glittering visual. Her ivory dress, also tasseled, and her intricately adorned puff sleeves reaching the middle of her hands are exquisite high notes. As is the bishop’s golden liturgical vestment seen behind her. Even the emperor’s white stockings are gold encrusted!
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ositioning of the Pope is interesting. Unlike Charlemagne, Napoleon did not go to Rome for coronation but summoned the Pope to Paris. He sits, looking almost forlorn, behind Napoleon, but upon the Emperor’s directive to David, he is seen blessing the coronation with his right hand (Napoleon did not want to have the Pope pictured there doing nothing).
Originally, David was going to depict the scene of what really happened: Napoleon took the crown and, after touching it to Josephine’s head, crowned himself. It is thought that Napoleon gave David that directive to include Josephine in the painting because it would make him look more open hearted to his Empress (with whom he was still very much in love) -- and more sympathetic to the people.
David takes other liberties in this work: Notre Dame Cathedral is “downsized” in order to keep the focus on the ceremony and his subjects. Napoleon’s mother was not in attendance (she refused, being piqued because Napoleon was feuding with her other sons), but she is pictured nonetheless (on order of the emperor) and has a special status in the painting’s center left gallery.
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The artist also painted himself into this group, since he WAS in attendance. It positions him in the annals of European art history forever, which was certainly not lost on him at the time. This painting can be seen as art and it can be viewed as political propaganda. Both are correct, but such is the fascinating way that art reaches us over history and time.
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After Napoleon’s fall, the fate of this painting seemed uncertain, but fortunately it survived, languishing for years in rooms at Versailles. It was transferred from there to the Louvre in 1889 where it can be seen today in the Hall Napoleon.
David’s grave is in Brussels. The government in Paris had refused a family request to bring the body home.
France had had enough of Jacques-Louis David.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Happy to R&K yet another Friday art lesson. I kinda miss the quizzes, though. Maybe you could throw one into the mix once in a while. Granted, I was no good at them, but I found that I learned quite a bit from them.
However, any of your Friday art posts are educational. That is what makes me search them out.
My best to you, CTyankee.
And hopefully many others.
Just thought you should know that. And I don't know shit about art. But one can still appreciate and be in awe of such things.
Love ya madly, my friend.
The detailed notes make it a pleasure to look at.
is so big and so complicated I just had to go with what Google offered me...
Thanks, CP. Nice to see you here...
All I can do is squee over those glorious empire-waist gowns.
I follow some goth ladies on twitter, primarily for the fact that they're always posting wonderful images of antique clothing. I used to wear bunches of vintage clothing back when thrift stores sold them for a song and I had an actual life. Now, it's mostly jeans and t-shirts and the majority of my wonderful pieces are lost to the fates. I still enjoy the hell out of looking though. 
them. It was too much for my back (for some reason I was thinking "oh, it's only clothes"
not realizing that it was SO MUCH that I could barely get the bag in the door at Goodwill. My back still hurts...
along with David's other work, and I must have looked at prints of it and "Death of Marat" and "Napoleon Crossing the Alps" and "Death of Socrates" a few hundred times.
But at no point did I ever have a clue about the sheer scale of the damned thing. I've lived in apartments smaller than that painting! My family spent two years living in a trailer significantly less expansive than that canvas! Amazing stuff.
Thank you for another wonderful post. Your essays have become one of the best parts of my DU experience.
I quite enjoyed that CT, thank you for posting it. 
Julie
