Bonaparte on the Bridge Poster

This is a reproduction of “Napoleon Bonaparte on the Bridge at Arcole by Jean-Antoine Gros. This painting was completed by 1797 and is 52.8 inches wide and 40.9 inches high. It presently in exhibition in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. The artist began drawing under the direction of his father when he was six years old in 1777. He entered the studio of Jacques-Louis David in 1785. In 1792 he earned a commission to paint portraits of the members of the National Convention. He went to Italy in 1793 where he met Josephine de Beauharnais and was introduced to Napoleon. He was with the army at Arcola where he witnessed Napoleon planting the Tricolor on the bridge. This painting is the result of his seeing the scene. Thereafter he rose in prominence in France and was created a baron of the French Empire in 1808. He had many students but in later life became quite despondent. He committed suicide in the Seine on June 25, 1835.