The Coronation of Napoleon (Le Sacre de Napoléon)

Commissioned by Napoleon I, this vast official record depicts the moment of the coronation on December 2, 1804. Although based on eyewitness accounts, the painting was politically edited under the Emperor's instruction; notably, Napoleon's mother, Maria Letizia Ramolino (Madame Mère), was included in the composition despite not attending the ceremony.

The work captures the transition of the French Consulate into the First French Empire, showing Napoleon crowning Joséphine while Pope Pius VII sits behind him. The artist, Jacques-Louis David, was the official painter of the Emperor and worked on this canvas between 1805 and 1807.