Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte

The miniature derives from one of the official portraits painted by Jacques-Louis David for the Emperor, like the one of 1812 kept at the National Gallery of Art of Washington in which Napoleon is wearing the same uniform of the hunters of the Imperial Guard with the shoulder pads of the Infantry; he used to wear that uniform only on Sunday and for special occasions. On the emperor's chest, they are fixed the silver plaque (grand aigle) of the Order of the Legion of Honour with the maltese star of the Great Master of the Order and the medal of the Knight of the Iron Crown Order of Italy: these decorations lead to date the work to the first decade of the XIX century. The first decoration was introduced by Napoleon in 1802 and the second one in 1805, after his coronation as king of Italy in Milan. This portrait is much more realistic than the David idealised's ones.