In what ways is ‘Napoleon Leading His Army Over The Alps’ a challenge of traditional canonical representations of power?

With Direct parallels and distinctions between the original work and Wiley’s piece, the message is pretty clear. It almost says that we are powerful too. in all these classic pieces the representation of white men through portraits, show how ‘powerful’ and ‘amazing’ they are. but they always leave behind minority’s, and never celebrate other achievements beside their own.

Wiley challenges the nature of this sort of art and instead celebrates the people who were never painted. Instead of making the portraits dark and sombre, he makes them brighter and more fun. this allows the viewer to see the people he is painting in a positive light and challenges ideas of masculinity. In the piece ‘Napoleon Leading His Army Over The Alps’ a clear distinction can be found on the colour of the man’s cape. In the original, the cape is red, which would symbolise violence and war. whereas in Wider’s art the cape is yellow which connotates to happiness and celebration, a lot more positive outlook.

 

Wiley makes it so the composition and size of the painting make you look up to the man he has painted. Changing the power from the white man to the black man. Giving power to a minority this way proves that we can be who we want to be and no one has power over what we are. This seems like the message Wider wants to send.

This painting makes me smile, compared to the original. since Wiley’s painting’s tone and mood is less serious and dark. I believe that laughter and happiness help to make a piece and message more memorable and significant.