Kehinde Wiley (American, born 1977). <em>Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps</em>, 2005. Oil on canvas, 108 x 108 in. (274.3 x 274.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Partial gift of Suzi and Andrew Booke Cohen in memory of Ilene R. Booke and in honor of Arnold L. Lehman, Mary Smith Dorward Fund, and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund
, 2015.53. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2015.53_framed_PS2.jpg)

Kehinde Wiley (American, born 1977). Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps, 2005. Oil on canvas, 108 x 108 in. (274.3 x 274.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Partial gift of Suzi and Andrew Booke Cohen in memory of Ilene R. Booke and in honor of Arnold L. Lehman, Mary Smith Dorward Fund, and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund , 2015.53. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2015.53_framed_PS2.jpg)

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Are these sperm shaped details on the painting and the frame supposed to be just that? And if so, what do they symbolize or mean?

They are indeed sperm cells. They are also in the background of the painting! The sperm themselves are quite subtle, only obvious unless you look quite closely. Scholars say it's Wiley's way of poking fun at the highly charged masculinity involved in the Western tradition of portraiture.

Would he by any chance also be poking fun at the hyper masculinity present in American culture as well?

Most definitely! The equestrian portrait genre especially is particularly infused with the concept of male power.

I look at this painting and wonder if the man who posed for it would be comfortable with his likeness being covered in sperm cells?

Wiley "street casts" his models, inviting strangers into his studio to pose for the work.

Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps

Kehinde Wiley

Contemporary Art

On View: Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor

Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps is emblematic of Kehinde Wiley’s long-standing and complicated engagement with the grand tradition of European portrait painting, an engagement encapsulated by the artist’s statement that he is simultaneously “drawn toward that flame and wanting to blow it out.” Wiley’s work not only reflects his in-depth understanding of portraiture’s ability to convey the power of the sitter, but also highlights the fact that brown and Black people have been written out of mainstream history. Wiley redresses this omission by offering an alternative narrative.

This painting takes as its point of departure Jacques-Louis David’s well-known portrait Bonaparte Crossing the Alps (1800–1), which commemorated the renowned French general Napoleon Bonaparte. In keeping with his practice, Wiley preserves the pose and composition in David’s work, while swapping the heroic figure of Napoleon for a contemporary Black man wearing camouflage fatigues and Timberland boots. Wiley also transforms the blue sky in David’s painting into a red ground embellished with gold floral motifs. Jewel-like sperm cells scattered across the surface refer to sexuality and a type of hypermasculinity that Wiley associates with aggression, whether military or otherwise. On the rocky outcropping in the foreground, inscribed with names of great historical military commanders, is the addition of “WILLIAMS,” the model’s last name. Aside from his name, little else is known about the man sitting in the saddle, in contrast to the general whose role he assumes in the painting.

ARTIST Kehinde Wiley, American, born 1977

MEDIUM Oil on canvas

DATES 2005

DIMENSIONS 108 x 108 in. (274.3 x 274.3 cm) frame: 130 1/2 x 121 x 12 in. (331.5 x 307.3 x 30.5 cm) weight: 220 lb. (99.79kg) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Contemporary Art

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor

EXHIBITIONS

ACCESSION NUMBER 2015.53

CREDIT LINE Partial gift of Suzi and Andrew Booke Cohen in memory of Ilene R. Booke and in honor of Arnold L. Lehman, Mary Smith Dorward Fund, and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund

RIGHTS STATEMENT © Kehinde Wiley. Courtesy Sean Kelly Gallery, New York

The Brooklyn Museum holds a non-exclusive license to reproduce images of this work of art from the rights holder named here. The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org. If you wish to contact the rights holder for this work, please email copyright@brooklynmuseum.org and we will assist if we can.

CAPTION Kehinde Wiley (American, born 1977). Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps, 2005. Oil on canvas, 108 x 108 in. (274.3 x 274.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Partial gift of Suzi and Andrew Booke Cohen in memory of Ilene R. Booke and in honor of Arnold L. Lehman, Mary Smith Dorward Fund, and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund , 2015.53. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2015.53_framed_PS2.jpg)

IMAGE overall, framed, 2015.53_framed_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2010

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.