Battle of Austerlitz, 2 December, 1805
Versailles, Musée National du Château
Commissioned to commemorate the Grande Armée’s most famous exploit and exhibited at the Salon of 1810, this gigantic canvas was originally destined for the ceiling of the chamber in which the Conseil d’Etat met. The subject is the solemn moment of victory, with General Rapp presenting to an Olympian Napoleon the standards taken from the enemy. The composition, although broad and balanced, is nonetheless complicated (indeed almost too much so), and in it Gérard reveals himself to be at the limits of his ability as a history painter. That being said, the ‘Sun of Austerlitz’ almost supernaturally fills the scene, perfectly matching the symbolic character of the date, ‘2 December’, within the Napoleonic legend.