STRIKE A POSE: Diana Vreeland Shows Her Napoleonic Side

Andy turns Jacques-Louis David’s iconic 1803 painting of Napoleon Bonaparte crossing the Alps on its head with Diana Vreeland as the French military leader in Diana Vreeland Rampart (After Jacques Louis David, Napoleon at St. Bernard), originally published in the December 1984 edition of Vogue.

The detailed blue screenprint of a cloaked Vreeland shows the Vogue editrix facing forward, hand outstretched, (gesturing toward future fashion-related conquests, we suppose), riding a majestic horse. It is a direct copy of David’s original work, except unlike Napoleon, who gazes toward the viewer, Vreeland has no need of an audience. She rides alone, toward unknown horizons. Warhol was attuned to her status as a visionary, and perfectly evokes it in this piece, which is presented on handmade, watermarked paper.

See more images at the Tribeca Grand Hotel's Pop-Up Exhibition in New York from September Sept 4 – 22, 2013. 

Caption: Diana Vreeland Rampart (After Jacques Louis David, Napoleon at St. Bernard) (1984)
31 1/8 x 23 1/8 inches
Est. $25,000 - $35,000.

Image: © 2013 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York