&quot;First of all I should say that I agree with davy&quot; - Norman Tebbit.

Very well spotted!

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The artist is making the fair assumption that if the Irish had been there they'd have been beaten without much of a struggle...

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You'd be a pretty big bloody target for archers if you had a lady with golden wings sat on your horse?

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zenicurean.livejournal.com

He's ingeniously protected himself by reminding the enemy before each battle that bows have been obsolete for centuries.

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surely thats just sending invitation for increased cannon fire?

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Victory shouldn't be riding side-saddle - if anything she should be flying!

There should be less gilt - it's ostentatious and tacky; the French are supposed to have good taste. Stop it.

The British colour should be atop those of Spain and Turkey (I presume? Something from North Africa maybe?), and likely atop the other one - which I can't currently identify!

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Is that the right Flag for Spain at that time?

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I *think* it's the arms of the King of Spain, but could be wrong - i'm not overly familiar with flags of the time!

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I don't know either, but I seem to recall a lot of changes in spanish flags around the time. It seems like the kind of thing that an artist working at the time would get wrong by working from books of heraldry (you'd want a symbol that the people of France would recognise as spanish over an accurate one).

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Absolutely! I believe there were different flags for different regions too though, as I say, not really my speciality.

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The yellow job is an Austrian Ordinarfahne. I don't recognize the black one, but since it is black it is probably Prussian (what am I talking about? if it is black it is bound to be Prussian - at what point did the Prussian people wake up one morning and decide that they wanted to be the baddies....for ever?).

D

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You're right! Napoleon should be riding side-saddle!

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gnommi.livejournal.com

Hm... dunno about the artist, but neither Napoleon nor his horsey seem to be looking where they're going, therefore the likelihood is that shortly there will be a poorly-researched flag-related tripping incident.

Also, why is there a nurse with a baby in a bucket on the far left?

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gnommi.livejournal.com

actually, a cursory glance at the evidence reveals that Napoleon ALMOST NEVER looked where he was going whilst riding, and ALMOST ALWAYS was pointing at *something*, though we may never know what.

(http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v234/gnommi/?action=view&current=LOLNapoleon.jpg)

Wonder he lasted so long...

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The pointing is probably an artistic device aimed at demonstrating Napolean's 'hands on' nature during the various wars he commanded. By having him face a different direction to his horse and having him point, it breaks the usual static pose of a regal portrait.

This may have also served to humanise him by bringing him closer to the Dutch style of painting 'normal people' going about their lives, but generally it gives him the presence of a man who is saying 'you! go over there and kill them' or even 'follow me lads!' It is not the portrait of a man who is stood on a hill, far away from battle on a specially tame horse.

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Alternatively (and more likely), he was just looking the wrong way when the Duke of Wellington turned up.

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gnommi.livejournal.com

yeah I gathered that, just being my normal facetious self :)

He's almost always shown gesturing what should be done from the front line, usually surrounded by casualties, some of which are approaching him (bottom left). I noticed too that he's usually on a white horse (though not always). Is this significant, or did he just have a white one?

I noticed that there is a lot of hat-waving in a lot of pictures of him in front of troops, popular guy...

He's quite often reining in a horse too, rather than standing or plodding, I notice. Always giving the impression of action.

Don't think white breeches are a sensible option though, they'll get grubby in no time. And they really are *suspiciously* clean.

He doesn't look too chipper crossing the alps (left centre), is he going into exile by that time?

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I suspect its for the obvious symbolism and the fact it makes him stand out more in a complex scene. The 'reining' of the horse would likely be to give the impression of him controlling a powerful beast, symbolising his control of the great french armies.

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Him crossing the Alps by Donkey is probably pretty close to the truth (it's before Marengo in 1800, so long before exile). The David version (rearing horse top right) must have been worth a laugh from the grognards of the Old Guard.

Yup, always a white horse - hence the D of Wellington's "I don't need a white horse to puff me b'God!" at Waterloo (there you go David, credit to Nosey where it's due).

Oddly enough, Boney always called his horses Marengo, odd 'cos he very nearly lost that one. Got saved by a suicidal charge by one of those young curly haired generals (called Desaix) who always manage to conveniently get themselves killed in the moment of victory. Thus saving Napoleon the bother of having to have him quietly offed later on by Fouche & Savary.

D

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karohemd.livejournal.com

Could it also be a practical reason in that a man on horseback straight on looks a bit daft while still wanting to have a frontal portrait rather than a profile? I would imagine side views of horses are easier to paint than complicated perspectives.

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The usual way would have been to paint it in the manner of a horse standing at a slight angle, as though held by a servant, with the noble sat astride and facing the viewer (or looking slightly over their head). Dealing with difficult perspectives would have been expected of a quality artist in this period.

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sea-of-flame.livejournal.com

ISTR that often a pointing gesture within a painting was designed to draw the viewer's eye towards something else in the painting, and strengthen the sense of perspective by pointing towards/away from the vanishing point.

Here, however, it just seems to be a futile gesture - unless of course the painting was initially paired with another, and the gesture wasdirected towards something in that...

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mrmmarc.livejournal.com

Obvious mistake...
...the naked lady with golden wings is not being ravished by a pack of drunken French sots?
...if the painting is correct Napoleon could never have gotten in an effective blow from that angel on the Harpy whose obviously attacking him?
... is this is symbolic of a French victory, it surely cannot be set IN France (notice the distinct lack of dog turds)!
...It's all fake- this assumes our jolly cousins across the Channel actually did take over all Europe- I am beingging to think its fake, the whole Bonaparte story, as to be honest, I don't think the French have it in them to do that much hard work...

Just of the top of my head..

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