Why napoleon was painted with his hand in his shirt?
@Katinquieti (31)
United Kingdom
4 responses
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
21 Mar 17
I beg to disagree, the pose was common to men of breeding and stature, the depiction dates back to works from ancient Greece, they would not paint a strong man in the height of his power to show weakness I suppose
No, he didn’t have heartburn or an unsightly hangnail. Just like low-slung jeans and pet rocks, posing with one hand hidden was a fad, and was considered a symbol of good breeding.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
21 Mar 17
There are various hypothesis, among them this one. It was considered more decent than letting the hands fallen or crossing the arms at a time where trousers had no pockets. It can also be considered like a pure gesture : the fine orators were represented like this since Aeschines.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
21 Mar 17
@topffer another theory was that painters had difficulty painting the hands, being sort of a portrait painter myself I would attest to that, I bought a small book solely dedicated to painting hands when I was learning how to paint knowing how hard it was especially in the realism style where you have to paint the position of the hand, digit amd nails to the last detail but still I would debunk this theory.
The Emperor at the height of his power could commission the finest French artists to depict himself as he wanted to and painting hands was easier than eating peanuts for them
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@PatZAnthony (14752)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
22 Mar 17
We read somewhere that researchers thought he was being poisoned, but you statement makes sense.
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