\paperw19995 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 The future emperor of France is represented brandishing a heavy sword and holding a flag that billows in the wind and is tan
gled with his shiny, ocher locks. The heroÆs figure, which we know was actually short and stocky, is made to look bigger by the dark uniform, that is adorned with gold braid and buttons and with an enormous ribbon tied on one side.\par
The tumultuous ba
ckground, where the only thing that can be made out is a small building wreathed in coils of smoke, alludes to the battle of Arcole, a small town near Verona where the Austrian army was defeated by French troops between November 15 and 17, 1796. \par
In
this heroic portrait Gros, who was the prised pupil of Jacques-Louis David, reveals the full extent of his fascination with NapoleonÆs personality and makes use of stylistic accents that can already be described as romantic.\par
