' Napoleon Crossing the Alps ' Paul Delaroche ( French 1797 - 1856 ) oil on canvas circa 1850

Already in 1840 Louis-Phillippe had consented to the return of Napoleon's body for a state burial in Les Invalides , thus officially incorporating him into French history . But with this continuing process of rehabilitation came a fresh appreciation of the great man's vulnerable humanity . In 1848 Louis-Phillipp's favourite history painter , Paul Delaroche , painted his own account of Napoleon's Saint Bermard crossing . Tired but determined , the guided mule plods on , a bedraggled Napoleon on it's back . The contrast with Jacques-Louis David's famous propaganda portrayal , rearing horse and flowing cloak is extreme . Delaroche's position however was far from hostile . He was fascinated by Napoleon , to whom he bore a strong resemblance , and whose successes and reversals he compared to his own . In his view ,the icon would not lose by being revealed as a credible man .