The Coronation of Napoleon: David's Painting in the Louvre

The Coronation of Napoleon, whose official title is The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I and the Coronation of the Empress Josephine in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on December 2, 1804, shows the moment when Napoleon, already crowned, places the crown on the head of Josephine, kneeling before him. Jacques-Louis David painted it between 1806 and 1807; it measures 6.21 × 9.79 m and hangs in room 702 (Salle Daru) of the Denon wing, level 1, at the Louvre Museum.

What does The Coronation of Napoleon depict?

It depicts the coronation of the empress, not the emperor. Napoleon stands, already crowned, raising the crown he is about to place on Josephine. Pope Pius VII, seated behind him, does no more than bless with his right hand raised.

The scene was not David’s first idea. According to Spanish Wikipedia, in an early study Napoleon was shown crowning himself, a gesture the emperor himself judged too arrogant toward the pope, and the painter changed the moment. It is therefore a carefully chosen piece of propaganda: Napoleon grants the power, and the Church only blesses it.

When and where was Napoleon crowned?

The coronation took place on December 2, 1804, in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. Napoleon commissioned the painting from David verbally in September 1804, even before the ceremony. The painter started work on December 21, 1804, in the former chapel of the Collège de Cluny, near the Sorbonne, with the help of his student Georges Rouget, and showed it at the Salon of 1808.

Who appears in the painting?

Much of the imperial court appears on the canvas. The main figures:

Napoleon I, standing, in the center.
Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763–1814), kneeling before him.
Pope Pius VII (1742–1823), seated, giving his blessing; beside him, Cardinal Legate Caprara.
Letizia Ramolino (1750–1836), Napoleon’s mother, in the central gallery. In reality she did not attend the ceremony: David painted her in on his own decision.
Napoleon’s brothers, Joseph and Louis Bonaparte, and little Napoléon Charles, Louis’s son.
High dignitaries such as Talleyrand, Berthier, Murat, Lebrun and Cambacérès.
David himself, in one of the galleries.

Letizia’s presence is the clearest sign that the painting is not reportage: David arranged the scene to tell what Napoleon wanted remembered.

How big is The Coronation of Napoleon?

It measures 6.21 m high by 9.79 m wide, according to the French Ministry of Culture’s Joconde database, and is oil on canvas. The Louvre sums it up as “about 6 meters high and almost 10 long”. Even so, it is not the largest painting in the museum: that is Veronese’s The Wedding at Cana, at 6.77 × 9.94 m.

Fact	Detail
Artist	Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825)
Date	1806–1807
Medium	oil on canvas
Dimensions	621 × 979 cm
Inventory number	INV 3699
Commission	Napoleon I, for the guard room of the Tuileries Palace
Location	room 702 (Salle Daru), Denon wing, level 1

Is there another version at Versailles?

Yes. The Louvre painting first hung in the Palace of Versailles, where Louis-Philippe installed it in 1837. In 1889 it was moved to the Louvre, and in its place Versailles kept a replica painted by David himself years later. So if you visit both palaces, you will see the same scene twice.

Where is The Coronation of Napoleon in the Louvre?

It is in room 702, the Salle Daru, in the Denon wing, level 1, one of the “red rooms” of large-scale 19th-century French painting. Next door, in room 700, are Liberty Leading the People and The Raft of the Medusa, and the Mona Lisa is on the same level of the Denon wing. The museum warns that works can change rooms, so check the location on the day of your visit.

If you want the figures explained in front of the canvas, the Spanish-language guided tour of the Louvre includes The Coronation of Napoleon in its program; it lasts 2 hours, with a maximum of 6 people, and costs $110. To learn what Napoleon meant for the museum itself, which was renamed the Musée Napoléon in 1803, read the Louvre history.