Consider the following painting from the PDF attached and the Stokstad/Cothren readings by Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Saint-Bernard, 1800-1801. This painting is an example of political propaganda, made to ennoble the military dictator and justify his program of military conquest. To whom is David comparing Napoleon? What artworks would he be quoting?
Then consider the Kehinde Wiley painting, Napoleon Leading His Army over the Alps,
2005.
Why do you think Wiley chose quote David’s painting above? What is the message of each image? Is Wiley’s quotation meant to be ironic? What about the names inscribed on the rocks in both paintings by the horse’s hooves? What do those signify? What about the background? Why did Wiley chose to make a pattern instead of using the background of the original painting?
