The Coronation of Napoleon

This monumental painting by Jacques-Louis David depicts the coronation ceremony of Napoleon I and Empress Joséphine at Notre-Dame de Paris on December 2, 1804. Measuring nearly ten meters wide and over six meters tall, it is one of the largest paintings in the Louvre. Napoleon himself commissioned the work and is said to have exclaimed upon viewing it that one could walk through the painting as if present at the ceremony.

David made several deliberate departures from historical accuracy at Napoleon's behest. Most notably, the painting shows Napoleon crowning Joséphine rather than himself, and Pope Pius VII is depicted with his hand raised in blessing, though contemporary accounts suggest the Pope was more passive during the event. Napoleon's mother, Letizia, appears prominently in the central loge despite having boycotted the actual ceremony.

The painting hangs in the Salle Daru, one of the Louvre's celebrated Red Rooms, whose grand crimson and gold décor was designed by Alexandre Dominique Denuelle in 1863 specifically to complement the large-format French history paintings displayed there.