In the context of this artwork, analyze the Differences between the five versions of the Paintings.
In the original version held at Malmaison (260 × 221 cm; 1021⁄3 × 87 in), Bonaparte has an orange cloak, the crispin (cuff) of his gauntlet is embroidered, the horse is piebald, black and white, and the tack is complete and includes a Running Martingale. The girth around the horse's belly is a dark faded red. The officer holding a sabre in the background is obscured by the horse's tail. Napoleon's face appears youthful. The painting is signed in the yoke of the breastplate: L. DAVID YEAR IX.
The Charlottenburg version (260 × 226 cm; 1021⁄3 × 89 in) shows Napoleon in a red cloak mounted on a chestnut horse. The tack is simpler, lacking the martingale, and the girth is grey-blue. There are traces of snow on the ground. Napoleon's features are sunken with the faint hint of a smile. The picture is signed L.DAVID YEAR IX.
In the first Versailles version (272 × 232 cm; 107 × 911⁄3 in), the horse is a dappled grey, the tack is identical to that of the Charlottenburg version, and the girth is blue. The embroidery of the gauntlet is simplified with the facing of the sleeve visible under the glove. The landscape is darker and Napoleon's expression is sterner. The picture is not signed.
The version from the Belvedere (264 × 232 cm; 104 × 911⁄3 in) is almost identical to that of Versailles but is signed J.L.DAVID L.ANNO X.
The second Versailles version (267 × 230 cm; 105 × 901⁄2 in) shows a black and white horse with complete tack but lacking the martingale. The girth is red. The cloak is orange-red, the collar is black, and the embroidery of the gauntlet is very simple and almost unnoticeable. The scarf tied around Napoleon's waist is light blue. The officer with the sabre is again masked by the tail of the horse. Napoleon's features are older, he has shorter hair, and—as in the Charlottenburg version—there is the faint trace of a smile. The embroidery and the style of the bicorne suggest that the picture was completed after 1804. The picture is not dated but is signed L.DAVID.
Napoleon tack bicorne grey Running Martingale Malmaison Charlottenburg Belvedere breastplate girth Versailles piebald