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How much is Napoleon Crossing the Alps worth?
Napoleon Crossing the Alps is not for sale: it is held by the Château de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison, so it has no market price. David painted five versions; this is the first, from 1801. The closest guide is David's highest documented sale: $7.21 million for Portrait of Ramel de Nogaret, at Christie's New York in 2008. Prints and posters of it usually sell for $5–$250, and hand-painted copies for $100–$800.
- Artist
- Jacques-Louis David
- Date
- 1801
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Held by
- Château de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison
David's record$7.21MPortrait of Ramel de Nogaret · 2008
Own a print or copy of Napoleon Crossing the Alps?
Most copies of Napoleon Crossing the Alps in homes are prints, posters or hand-painted copies. They sell as decorative pieces, not as David's work. These are the resale ranges Art Scanner's value estimate starts from.
Poster or unframed print$5–$60
Framed decorative or museum-shop print$40–$250
Large framed archival print$150–$800
Hand-painted copy$100–$800
An oil copy painted by hand, often sold as decorStrokes that match the picture
Raised brushstrokes that follow the image mean a hand-painted copy. A few strokes over a flat print are added texture.
Labels on the back
Publisher, framer or gallery labels often say exactly what it is and when it was made.
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About the painting
Napoleon Crossing the Alps is a series of five oil on canvas equestrian portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte painted by the French artist Jacques-Louis David between 1801 and 1805. Initially commissioned by the King of Spain, the composition shows a strongly idealized view of the real crossing that Napoleon and his army made along the Alps through the Great St Bernard Pass in May 1800.
More on the artist: the most expensive David ever sold, and where the famous ones hang.
David next to other famous artists
Each artist's highest documented sale, from the same research. David: $7.21 million for Portrait of Ramel de Nogaret, in 2008.
Nominal US dollars as reported at the time of sale, buyer's premium included where the source includes it.
Why it has no price
Napoleon Crossing the Alps is held by the Château de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison. Works in public collections are not sold, so no one can put a market price on them. Sale records of other works by the same artist are the closest guide to what it would fetch.
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Questions
How much is Napoleon Crossing the Alps worth?
Napoleon Crossing the Alps is not for sale: it is held by the Château de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison, so it has no market price. David painted five versions; this is the first, from 1801. The closest guide is David's highest documented sale: $7.21 million for Portrait of Ramel de Nogaret, at Christie's New York in 2008. Prints and posters of it usually sell for $5–$250, and hand-painted copies for $100–$800.
How much is a print of Napoleon Crossing the Alps worth?
Most prints and posters of Napoleon Crossing the Alps sell for $5–$250, with framed ones at the top of that range, and hand-painted copies for $100–$800. They are priced as decorative pieces, not as David's work.
Is Napoleon Crossing the Alps for sale?
No. It is held by the Château de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison. Works in public collections are not sold, so they have no market price.
What is David's most expensive work?
Portrait of Ramel de Nogaret, which sold for $7.21 million at Christie's New York in 2008. Prices are nominal US dollars as reported at the time.
Where is Napoleon Crossing the Alps?
Napoleon Crossing the Alps (1801, oil on canvas) is held by the Château de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison.
Sources
- $7.21 million, 2008: it.artprice.com
Researched October 2026 and checked against a second source. All famous painting prices
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