The Empire of French Imperial Art: Jacques-Louis David and the Napoleonic Regime, 1799 to 1812

Abstract

This thesis deals with the relationship of art in Napoleonic France, with a specific focus of works glorifying Napoleon Bonaparte by Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon’s official court painter. The central focus of each image is to understand the impact of David’s paintings for the Napoleonic image, as well as the empire he constructed after seizing administrative control of France. Napoleon actively exploited the arts as a form of propaganda for his empire, the quintessential example of which are the works David painted of the emperor. Furthermore, before each analysis of a work, there is a brief history of Napoleon’s actions in Europe, thus enabling the reader to better understand the context under which the painting is produced and the reasoning behind what David chooses to reveal in his works and what he decides to leave out, in order to fully propagandize Napoleon.