Louvre

FINDING NAPOLEON IN THE NEW YORK TIMES

June 27, 2018 May 19, 2020

Beyoncé and Friends in front of Jacques Louis David's Le Sacre, depicting the Coronation of Napoleon and Josephine

Twice in two days this month, Napoleon Bonaparte made news in the New York Times. I’m not sure how much he would have appreciated either article. Napoleon Bonaparte as Cultural Icon In a clash of new and old, current icons Beyoncé and Jay-Z filmed their latest music video in the Louvre Museum. They and their …

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Finding Napoleon in Abu Dhabi

November 30, 2017 May 19, 2020

My last post highlighted the artist Kehinde Wiley’s satiric imitation of Jacques-Louis David’s painting of Napoleon Bonaparte Crosssing the Alps. David painted five versions of this iconic image. It turns out one of these—the one that usually hangs in the Palace of Versailles—is on long-term loan to new Louvre Abu Dhabi in the United Arab …

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