Kehinde Wiley (American, born 1977). Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps, 2005. Oil on canvas, 108 x 108 in. (274.3 x 274.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Partial gift of Suzi and Andrew Booke Cohen in memory of Ilene R. Booke and in honor of Arnold L. Lehman, Mary Smith Dorward Fund, and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund , 2015.53. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2015.53_framed_PS2.jpg)
Kehinde Wiley (American, born 1977). Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps, 2005. Oil on canvas, 108 x 108 in. (274.3 x 274.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Partial gift of Suzi and Andrew Booke Cohen in memory of Ilene R. Booke and in honor of Arnold L. Lehman, Mary Smith Dorward Fund, and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund , 2015.53. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2015.53_cropped_PS2.jpg)
Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps
Kehinde Wiley
Contemporary Art
On View: Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor
About this Brooklyn Icon
The Brooklyn Museum is commemorating its 200th anniversary by spotlighting 200 standout objects in its encyclopedic collection.
Kehinde Wiley presents a defiant portrait of a young Black man on horseback, identified only by the surname Williams. It wasn’t common until recently to see subjects like Williams depicted in such a monumental way. In fact, the inspiration for this painting is a 200-year-old portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, a significant historical figure. Here, an anonymous Black youth takes Napoleon’s place and is painted with the same sense of magnificence. Although his surroundings are grand, Williams’s camouflage suit, white T-shirt, and Timberlands, as well as his Starter wristbands, forearm tattoos, and white bandana tied around his forehead, are familiar. Unlike Napoleon, Williams feels real—like someone you could, and possibly do, know.
This painting is part of Wiley’s 2005 Rumors of War series and was featured in the Brooklyn Museum’s 2015 exhibition Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic, the artist’s first museum survey show. In 2020, it was exhibited with the original portrait of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David, which emphasized Wiley’s criticisms of race and power. The Museum has a long-standing engagement with Wiley’s work, having organized his first-ever solo museum exhibition in 2004, just three years after he earned his MFA, setting the stage for decades of collaboration.
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Gallery Label
Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps is emblematic of Kehinde Wiley's long-standing and complicated engagement with the grand tradition of European portrait painting, an engagement encapsulated by the artist's statement that he is simultaneously "drawn toward that flame and wanting to blow it out." Wiley's work not only reflects his in-depth understanding of portraiture's ability to convey the power of the sitter, but also highlights the fact that brown and Black people have been written out of mainstream history. Wiley redresses this omission by offering an alternative narrative.
This painting takes as its point of departure Jacques-Louis David's well-known portrait Bonaparte Crossing the Alps (1800–1), which commemorated the renowned French general Napoleon Bonaparte. In keeping with his practice, Wiley preserves the pose and composition in David's work, while swapping the heroic figure of Napoleon for a contemporary Black man wearing camouflage fatigues and Timberland boots. Wiley also transforms the blue sky in David's painting into a red ground embellished with gold floral motifs. Jewel-like sperm cells scattered across the surface refer to sexuality and a type of hypermasculinity that Wiley associates with aggression, whether military or otherwise. On the rocky outcropping in the foreground, inscribed with names of great historical military commanders, is the addition of "WILLIAMS," the model's last name. Aside from his name, little else is known about the man sitting in the saddle, in contrast to the general whose role he assumes in the painting.
The Brooklyn Museum is commemorating its 200th anniversary by spotlighting 200 standout objects in its encyclopedic collection.
Kehinde Wiley presents a defiant portrait of a young Black man on horseback, identified only by the surname Williams. It wasn’t common until recently to see subjects like Williams depicted in such a monumental way. In fact, the inspiration for this painting is a 200-year-old portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, a significant historical figure. Here, an anonymous Black youth takes Napoleon’s place and is painted with the same sense of magnificence. Although his surroundings are grand, Williams’s camouflage suit, white T-shirt, and Timberlands, as well as his Starter wristbands, forearm tattoos, and white bandana tied around his forehead, are familiar. Unlike Napoleon, Williams feels real—like someone you could, and possibly do, know.
This painting is part of Wiley’s 2005 Rumors of War series and was featured in the Brooklyn Museum’s 2015 exhibition Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic, the artist’s first museum survey show. In 2020, it was exhibited with the original portrait of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David, which emphasized Wiley’s criticisms of race and power. The Museum has a long-standing engagement with Wiley’s work, having organized his first-ever solo museum exhibition in 2004, just three years after he earned his MFA, setting the stage for decades of collaboration.
***
Gallery Label
Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps is emblematic of Kehinde Wiley's long-standing and complicated engagement with the grand tradition of European portrait painting, an engagement encapsulated by the artist's statement that he is simultaneously "drawn toward that flame and wanting to blow it out." Wiley's work not only reflects his in-depth understanding of portraiture's ability to convey the power of the sitter, but also highlights the fact that brown and Black people have been written out of mainstream history. Wiley redresses this omission by offering an alternative narrative.
This painting takes as its point of departure Jacques-Louis David's well-known portrait Bonaparte Crossing the Alps (1800–1), which commemorated the renowned French general Napoleon Bonaparte. In keeping with his practice, Wiley preserves the pose and composition in David's work, while swapping the heroic figure of Napoleon for a contemporary Black man wearing camouflage fatigues and Timberland boots. Wiley also transforms the blue sky in David's painting into a red ground embellished with gold floral motifs. Jewel-like sperm cells scattered across the surface refer to sexuality and a type of hypermasculinity that Wiley associates with aggression, whether military or otherwise. On the rocky outcropping in the foreground, inscribed with names of great historical military commanders, is the addition of "WILLIAMS," the model's last name. Aside from his name, little else is known about the man sitting in the saddle, in contrast to the general whose role he assumes in the painting.
MEDIUM
Oil on canvas
DATES
2005
DIMENSIONS
108 x 108 in. (274.3 x 274.3 cm)
frame: 130 1/2 x 121 x 12 in. (331.5 x 307.3 x 30.5 cm)
weight: 220 lb. (99.79kg) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Contemporary Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
2015.53
CREDIT LINE
Partial gift of Suzi and Andrew Booke Cohen in memory of Ilene R. Booke and in honor of Arnold L. Lehman, Mary Smith Dorward Fund, and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is on view in Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor
CAPTION
Kehinde Wiley (American, born 1977). Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps, 2005. Oil on canvas, 108 x 108 in. (274.3 x 274.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Partial gift of Suzi and Andrew Booke Cohen in memory of Ilene R. Booke and in honor of Arnold L. Lehman, Mary Smith Dorward Fund, and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund
, 2015.53. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2015.53_framed_PS2.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, framed, 2015.53_framed_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2010
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
© Kehinde Wiley. Courtesy Sean Kelly Gallery, New York
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