Appiani. Le peintre de Napoléon en Italie. / Appiani. The Painter of Napoleon in Italy

The first dedicated monograph in France on Napoleon’s official painter in Italy. Andrea Appiani, a brilliant Milanese Neoclassical painter, began his career with theater sets and church frescoes. The turning point came in 1796, when Napoleon Bonaparte entered Milan. Enthusiastic about republican ideals, Appiani closely followed Napoleon’s rise from general to president of the Italian Republic and eventually King of Italy. Appiani also produced numerous portraits of Joséphine Bonaparte (often paired with those of Napoleon), as well as of Eugène de Beauharnais and Princess Augusta of Bavaria.

Two centuries after his death, this exhibition, and its lavish catalog, bring overdue recognition in France to a painter who visualized the imperial power of Napoleon with rare elegance and ambition. With nearly 200 illustrations and scholarly essays, the publication offers a fresh look at an artist both celebrated and underestimated.