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# How Napoleon's Appearance Changes in Antoine-Jean Gros Portraits Before and During the Empire
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/a-vy-zamechali-chto-napoleon-na-svoikh-portretakh-do-imperatorskogo-perioda-vygliadit-sovershenno-drugim-chelovekom/
- Published: 2022-05-06T06:18:22.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T18:52:39.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Art, Monarchies, Observations, People

Have you noticed that Napoleon, in his portraits from before the imperial period, looks like a completely different man? Take, for example, the portraits by Antoine-Jean Gros, Napoleon's official painter: "Napoleon on the Bridge at Arcole" of 1796 and "Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul" of 1799\. Can one really compare this slender, heroic man with the elongated face and sharp features to the pot-bellied, round-faced little fellow of most portraits of the imperial period?

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_6507@06-05-2022_09-18-22.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_6508@06-05-2022_09-18-22.jpg)