Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) is arguably the greatest figure in modern history. In more than a few ways, he changed the world. In The Symbolic Napoleon: Perspectives on Gross Bonaparte Visiting the Plague-Stricken of Jaffa, Bhaso Ndzendze contemplates his legacy through a painting of him produced by Antoine-Jean Gros in 1804, the year of his coronation as Emperor of the French.Why was the painting produced at the time that it was? Why does it specifically contain the imagery that it does? What can it tell us about Napoleon and of history as a whole? What symbols (both intended and otherwise) are manifested in the painting Through a close, philosophical, and contextual study, these and many other relevant questions are meditated upon in a manner that will strike a chord with the reader, leading to a wider and more earnest desire to understand history, as well as a more practical appreciation of the power of art and the closely-knit ties it shares with the various realms of what is called life.
