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Napoleon's Hand Inserted Into His Tunic: Why?

GNC

GNC

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You know that popular image of the famous dictator Napoleon with his hand in his tunic? Is it true that the reason he had his hand so placed is because he was holding and petting a kitten in there?

I tried Googling for "Napoleon Kittens" and didn't get very far, although apparently there is a kind of cat so called. Are they named after the kittens that the Emperor favoured?
 
Seems unlikely as kittens tend to suffer from wanderlust and would have tried to get out and explore.

I suspect ferrets or a chicken.
 
S'true. Evrybodie lov teh kittehs.
 
The Napoleon cat is a cross-bred dwarf cat - which makes me think of Time Bandits - so perhaps it could live happily in a sleeve...
 
theyithian said:
The Napoleon cat is a cross-bred dwarf cat - which makes me think of Time Bandits - so perhaps it could live happily in a sleeve...
Click to expand...

Maybe it's called a Napoleon cat only because it's so little? He wasn't exactly Robert Wadlow.
 
I can recall a story about Napolean being scared of cats, to such an extent that he was found a sobbing wreck in a palace corridor at the sight of a cat, some versions say a kitten.

Of course it might all have been early propaganda making him out to be a big sissy really.
 
It was always my understanding that Napolean, like other dictators, prefered dogs to cats. Prefering cats to dogs is supposed to be a sign of a freedom-loving nature and a manageable ego. (Which theory would make the predominance of dogs in the White House a bad sign.)

I think I've seen this bit of cat-lover propaganda in print as well as had it in verbal folklore. As a cat-lover myself I took it at face value for a long time.
 
tilly50 said:
I can recall a story about Napolean being scared of cats, to such an extent that he was found a sobbing wreck in a palace corridor at the sight of a cat, some versions say a kitten.

Of course it might all have been early propaganda making him out to be a big sissy really.
Click to expand...

I don't know about cats, but Napoleon certainly had cause to be terrified of rabbits.

In anticipation of a visit, hundreds of rabbits were bought to ensure that Napoleon and his hunting party would have something to shoot at. Unfortunately, tame rabbits were bought instead of wild ones and instead of fleeing for their lives when they were released, the starving rabbits ran towards the humans, of whom they had no fear, thinking that they would be fed. Cue another ignominious retreat by Napoleon, who, along with everyone else, had to exit sharply while beating off the ravenous bunnies with his bare hands...
 
For what it's worth ... Wikipedia's entry on Ailurophobia (persistent, irrational fear of cats) lists Napoleon as "a noted sufferer" ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ailurophobia

The cited source is _Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts_ .
 
WhistlingJack said:
Napoleon, who, along with everyone else, had to exit sharply while beating off the ravenous bunnies with his bare hands...
Click to expand...


Eeeew, that's just the kind of perversion those sick Froggies love, that's disgusting.
 
EnolaGaia said:
For what it's worth ... Wikipedia's entry on Ailurophobia (persistent, irrational fear of cats) lists Napoleon as "a noted sufferer" ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ailurophobia

The cited source is _Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts_ .
Click to expand...

Now I'm wondering where I heard that Napoleon kept a kitten up his jumper. Seems like it couldn't be more wrong!
 
But why the hand in the waistcoat?

One explanation:

"Contrary to the legend it is not a question to relieve a pain with the stomach, it is in fact an iconographic license all Rhétorique, far from the representations warmongers which point out the warrior, one sees here the consul in the calm attitude of the legislator. Well before Napoleon painting already thus showed men of being able, monarchs or soldiers, this posture symbolizing weighting takes as a starting point the installation oratory of the Greek philosopher Eschine represented thus in the ancient statuary. "

http://www.speedylook.com/Portraits_of_Napoleon_i.html
 
I read ages ago that Napoleon Bonaparte kept one hand in his tunic not for reasons of looking dignified, but because he kept a little, fluffy bunny rabbit in there that he liked to stroke. Any truth to this?
 
I wish I could! Must have been about thirty years ago, long passed into the mists of time. Google is no help so I'm trying here!
 
The most commonly offered (and cited ... ) explanation goes like this ...

The 'hand-inside-the-garment' pose wasn't originated by Napoleon, and it wasn't unique to him and his portraits. It had become a common stylistic convention used in portraits of authority figures (particularly military men) before Napoleon. For example, in 1738 - before Napoleon's birth - a Francois Nivelon authored a book entitled A Book of Genteel Behavior, which described this very pose as "... a common stance for men of breeding and manly boldness, tempered with modesty."

SOURCE: https://books.google.com/books?id=z...nepage&q="A Book Of Genteel Behavior"&f=false

Supposedly as far back as ancient Greece and Rome it was considered crude for a man of eminent stature to expose or display his hands, particularly when speaking. Important speakers were expected to keep their hands discreetly tucked away (e.g., beneath the toga or robe).
 
EnolaGaia said:
The most commonly offered (and cited ... ) explanation goes like this ...

The 'hand-inside-the-garment' pose wasn't originated by Napoleon, and it wasn't unique to him and his portraits. It had become a common stylistic convention used in portraits of authority figures (particularly military men) before Napoleon. For example, in 1738 - before Napoleon's birth - a Francois Nivelon authored a book entitled A Book of Genteel Behavior, which described this very pose as "... a common stance for men of breeding and manly boldness, tempered with modesty."
Click to expand...

I suppose it's possible Napoleon didn't hold his hand like that at all, and was depicted that way in portraits to render him more like the agreed stance of the statesman?
 
The pose is known as The Orator.
 
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