Napoleon as Triumphator
François-Frédéric Lemot (1772-1827) · 1806
Napoleon stands in the pose of a Roman emperor, crowned with laurel and holding the imperial sceptre topped by an eagle. His long mantle is embroidered with the bees of the Empire, and around his neck hangs the collar of the Legion of Honour. The figure is more than two and a half metres tall and made of lead covered in gold, a material chosen for a statue meant to shine high above a street. Lemot modelled it to be seen from below, hence the elongated proportions and broad gestures.
Dominique-Vivant Denon, director of the Musée Napoléon, planned an ambitious group for the top of the Arc du Carrousel, gateway to the Tuileries palace: the Emperor driving the chariot of Victory, flanked by allegories of Peace and Victory. The state commissioned the statue in 1806 and it was hoisted into place in the summer of 1808, but Napoleon refused to see his own image crowning an arch raised to honour his army, and it was taken down in August and stored in the Louvre's orangery. It later went to Versailles, to the gardens of Malmaison and to Fontainebleau, returning to the Louvre in 2000.
Did You Know? Napoleon himself had the statue removed after only a few weeks on top of the Arc du Carrousel.
Unlock the Full Guide
Read every room and listen to every work in all museums with premium.