Napoleon Leading The Army Over The Alps By Wiley

Now that the poem is well understood, there is a need to analyse the painting as well. Wiley, the artist of the piece “Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps”, is a contemporary artist who paints African Americans from all over the world, often in relation to aristocratic or noblemen paintings of the Classical European period. His models are often from the streets of New York City and are painted in their everyday clothes, or whatever they’re just wearing. This process of randomly selecting people who represent the country conveys a sense of “anyone can be a hero”. In this particular painting, the man is dressed in a white bandana, army uniform clothes, and chunky Timberland boots with red wristbands on both arms. A yellow drape covers him like a
cape, similar to the David’s original painting, except that Napoleon’s cape is red while the man’s cape is yellow. Instead of a captain’s hat in the original painting, the man is wearing a white bandana. The army uniform and the bandana are more relatable and worker class, mundane attire than Napoleon’s official state battle uniform.
This represents how the ordinary class, and especially African Americans are triumphing over their challenges and circumstances. Unlike the original painting where Napoleon’s arms are covered up in pristine leather gloves, the well-toned muscles of his arms are emphasised. The muscular arms, the facial expressions of serenity but determination seem to convey the sense of readiness and willingness to fight for the glory, recognition, and equality. The two horses are also different in that the horse in Wiley’s painting has black fur on its face and underbelly while Napoleon’s horse in David’s painting does not. This could possibly further emphasise African American culture by changing the type of horse depicted in the painting. In both paintings, there is also the commonality that both figures are fighting for something that is rightfully theirs. Napoleon was trying to return to Italy and retake the territory seized by Austrians while the pose of the man here seems to signify that he is fighting for something too, perhaps justice for the African Americans who have often been wrongly
prejudiced. Another striking feature is the print in the background of Wiley’s painting. Wiley uses different prints that are traditional to various cultures. The print that he uses for the background here is European Rococo style. The decorative and flourished lines adorn the whole painting and the textile really helps make the painting pop. The burgundy background has an undertone of red, a colour that conveys fierceness, boldness, courageousness. Furthermore, it is important to consider the size of this painting as for the original painting, the artist was requested to make the painting large to make a point of Napoleon’s success and high status. Wiley’s picture is 108 x 108 in. in fact slightly larger than the original painting, making it a huge painting. Now taking a look at the frame, the frame of Wiley’s painting is also elaborately decorated in a similar European Rococo style, except that the decoration in the middle of the top frame seems to depict perhaps a Blackface actor, relating to the poem and more contemporary concepts. Williams is also etched into the rock on top of the name Bonaparte which further brings the sense of African American culture as Williams is a common African American last name. Something different about Wiley’s piece from David’s original painting is that while the original has soldiers around him who seem to be helping Napoleon fight his battle, Wiley’s version is fiercer in that the hero is independent and fighting his own battles without any help in the background. Finally, an interesting aspect of David’s original is that it was painted many times in several versions, suggesting that the artist tried to capture the different shades, aspects, and ways of triumph and victory. And so ultimately, what does the visual and the poem have in common and what message do these two pieces convey? Primarily, both strongly show the theme of social change. The entire poem talks of ways the poem believes we should change the perception of African Americans in our society while the background and body language of the visual conveys a sense of leading the change and leading the African American people to triumph. Furthermore, the poem and visual seem to complement each other. While the poem utilises the slant rhyme scheme to show the gradual change between similar things, the concept of allusion between Wiley’s painting and David’s original also demonstrate a similar concept. The concept of similar themes and images being repeated or referenced in another work can be seen as allusion. David’s painting is alluded in Wiley’s painting and depiction of the modern Napoleon. In addition, it is significant to note that in middle of the top frame of Wiley’s work, there is a sculpted face of an African American. It seems likely that the distinct leer and thick lips of the figure, which are both characteristics related to the minstrel shows, relate back to the poem where it talks about “the leer/ of the minstrel’s burnt-cork face” (11). Together, the visual and the poem emphasise the importance of the fight for change, especially in the context of the modern era. Both pieces have a contemporary feel as Randall utilises words such as “The age” (1) when setting the background for his poem and Wiley takes an artwork of the past and changes it to his modern interpretation. The modern hero is not a man like Napoleon, but more like the man depicted in the painting; a man who is physically strong and ready to fight, more mundane, and more independent. Reading the poem helps interpret the artwork as it seems to describe what the man seems to be fighting for. At the same time, the man’s somewhat determined and serene face reminds readers of the poem of the last line “a proud, serene/ and classic Bronze of Benin” (13). The artwork seems to be the process of leading African Americans to their victory and triumph or it seems to be at the final stage when the man is victorious that he has accomplished his goals. In retrospect, the painting and the poem complement each other in many ways and represent a strong social message in that there is a need to change the way that American society views African Americans. While many prejudices are deeply rooted into American thought and culture, both the poem and painting seem to be optimistic that with determination and effort, it is possible to right the wrongs that were done in the past. Slowly, but surely, as a group, we will be able to work together to follow the instructions of the verbs of the poem that called the readers to action, and to be reminded of a new image by the painting that African Americans can indeed triumph in their own way to overcome the challenges that may have been present for them in the past. Ultimately, the two works convey a message that just like the slant rhyme scheme or the allusion of David’s work in Riley’s piece, everyone is similar but also different. In the case of African Americans, a message that they’re trying to convey to society seems to be that like the bronze of Benin, they want to showcase their culture and heritage that is different from that of any other society or culture. They may now be deeply integrated into American society but at the same time, their roots are different from that of other racial groups such as Whites, Hispanics, or Asians. On an individual level, it’s important to remember that while we often try to conform and work together in a group, there will always be a certain level of individuality present because everyone is similar, but different.

Works Cited

Cashin, Sheryll, “The Failures of Integration”, Center for American Progress, June 15, 2005, Feb 3, 2018, https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/courts/news/2005/06/15/1497/the-failures-of-integration/

Desmond-Harris, Jenée, “Don’t Get What’s Wrong With Blackface? Here’s Why It’s So Offensive,” Vox, Oct 29, 2014, Feb 3, 2018, https://www.vox.com/2014/10/29/7089591/dont-get-whats-wrong-with-blackface-heres-why-its-so-offensive

Dr. Leonard, David, J., “Just Say No to Blackface: Neo-Minstrelsy and the Power to Dehumanize”, HuffPost, Oct 12, 2012, Feb 2, 2018, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-david-j-leonard/just-say-no-to-blackface-_b_1752139.html

NA, “Benin Empire”, New World Encyclopedia, Jan 28, 2017, Feb 3, 2018, http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Benin_Empire NA, “Benin Plaques”, The British Museum, 2017, Feb 3, 2018, http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=8849&partId=1

NA, “Napoleon Crossing the Alps”, Wikipedia, Jan 14, 2018, Feb 2, 2018, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_Crossing_the_Alps

NA, “Napoleon Leading the Army Over the Alps”, The Brooklyn Museum, ND, Feb 3, 2018, https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/169803

NA, “The Benin Bronzes”, Lumen Learning, ND, Feb 2, 2018, https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/other-african-art/

Weale, Sally, “Benin Bronze Row: Cambridge College Removes Cockerel”, The Guardian, 8 Mar 2017, 3 Feb 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/mar/08/benin-bronze-row-cambridge-college-removes-cockerel

Wiley, Kehinde, “About”, Kehinde Wiley, ND, Feb 3, 2018, http://kehindewiley.com/