The Coronation of Napoleon
1805–1807 · Oil on canvas · Musée du Louvre, Paris
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This print
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 exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. 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 24×36 in black. Deep red, cream or dark green walls suit the pageantry; it pairs with Napoleon Crossing the Alps.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Exhibition poster of a Neoclassicism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1805–1807)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cream & beige
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- living room, dining room, hallway or entryway, dorm room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.
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
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
