Which Jacques-Louis David painting depicts Napoleon crowning himself?

The Jacques-Louis David painting associated with Napoleon crowning himself is The Coronation of Napoleon.

David’s full official title is “The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of the Empress Joséphine in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on 2 December 1804.” Painted between 1805 and 1807, the enormous oil-on-canvas work records Napoleon’s imperial ceremony and is now displayed in the Louvre.

The question’s wording refers to a fascinating change in the composition. In the ceremony, Napoleon famously took the crown and crowned himself before crowning Joséphine. David’s finished painting instead emphasizes Napoleon placing the crown on Joséphine, while the pope sits behind them in a largely ceremonial role. Infrared and other examination have revealed traces of an earlier arrangement in which Napoleon held the crown above his own head.

The work is both a historical record and political image. David organized the crowded scene around Napoleon, Joséphine, Pope Pius VII, court officials, and members of the imperial household. Napoleon even intervened in the composition: his mother, who did not attend the ceremony, was shown prominently in the stands. The painting is therefore not a neutral snapshot, but carefully managed imperial propaganda.