The Coronation of Napoleon
1805–1807 · Oil on canvas · Musée du Louvre, Paris
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About this work
- Artist
- Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825)
- Year
- 1805–1807
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 621 × 979 cm
- Collection
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Movement
- Neoclassicism
In Notre-Dame on 2 December 1804, Napoleon, already crowned, lifts a crown over the kneeling Josephine while Pope Pius VII sits behind him and the imperial court, the clergy and the Bonaparte family fill the cathedral. David, named First Painter to the Emperor, worked on the ten-metre canvas from 1805 to 1807 and used a model of the cathedral with dolls to arrange the hundreds of figures; he painted himself sketching in the gallery, and placed Napoleon's mother, who had refused to attend, in the centre box. The emperor first intended to be shown crowning himself and the final composition was his own diplomatic correction. He walked the length of the picture for half an hour when he saw it and declared that it was not a painting but something one could walk into. It hangs in the Louvre, in the gallery of large French paintings.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A cathedral full of gold, ermine and crimson with the emperor raising a crown over a kneeling empress, a very wide painting for a living room, hallway or dining room at 36×24 in black. Deep red, cream or dark green walls suit the pageantry; it pairs with Napoleon Crossing the Alps.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Neoclassicism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1805–1807)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- living room, dining room, hallway or entryway
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 36×24. Prints at 18×12, 24×16, 36×24 in — 18×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×16 above a console or sideboard; 36×24 as the statement piece above a sofa or headboard.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — natural wood flatters the lighter palette; black sharpens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is The Coronation of Napoleon in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was The Coronation of Napoleon painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
