[Jacque Louis David / Bonaparte cruzando San Bernardo] It is Italy that Napoleon on a white horse standing on its hind legs and braying is pointing at with his highly raised right hand. It was a figure of courageous Napoleon commanding his troops to cross the Alps during the second expedition into Italy in 1800 that the chief artist of the Emperor painted. The reality, however, was not so dramatic. It is impossible to cross the precipitous Alps on a white horse. Actually, Napoleon rode a donkey and advanced shivering in cold. Such a miserable figure does not become a hero. It was only natural for David, who was the leading artist in the neo-classic school with the characteristic of expressing the subjects in idealism, to beatify Napoleon in his art. Copyright/Photo RMN/digital file by DNPAC