Napoleon on Horseback, 1961
Napoleon on Horseback is one of the artist’s final works and remained unfinished. For the first time, Ligabue confronts the genre of history painting. His choice falls on one of the most famous figures of the past, suitably transfigured to assume the features of the artist himself. Astride a white horse, we do not see the famous Corsican commander but the Italian-Swiss painter.
The horse’s muzzle is rendered with vivid realism, while the Napoleon-Ligabue advances with a weary expression, a rigid body made mannequin-like by the absence of hands. The pair moves toward the undefined, evoked by the unpainted white of the canvas on the left, almost symbolizing the imminent end of Ligabue’s physical existence.
In this, as in other late works, the artist demonstrates an awareness of his newly acquired fame. The decision to portray himself as Napoleon signals his desire for affirmation, recognition, and social redemption. He wishes to provoke astonishment and admiration, imagining himself entering the town on his new steed. Yet the animal appears clumsy and tired, and the rider is stiff within an oversized coat.
As Cesare Zavattini recalled in 1968:
“He dreamed of entering Gualtieri on a white horse to humiliate everyone.”