DAVID, Jacques-Louis
(b. 1748, Paris, d. 1825, Bruxelles)

Bonaparte, Calm on a Fiery Steed, Crossing the Alps

1801
Oil on canvas, 260 x 221 cm
Musée National du Château de Malmaison, Rueil

Full of enthusiasm for the new ruler of France, David painted Bonaparte, Calm on a Fiery Steed, Crossing the Alps. The title shows what could be expected of the general: he would be capable of ruling supremely well over an unruly Europe.

David and his studio executed four versions of this painting,