Napoleon dismounting with an injured foot at Regensburg, aided by the Surgeon, Yvan, April 23, 1809

Rendered in a dynamic, high‑contrast palette, the painting juxtaposes the white horse bearing the wounded emperor with a dark‑dressed rider, creating visual tension. Gautherot employs vigorous brushwork to convey the chaos of battle—rearing horses, clashing infantry in red coats, and billowing smoke—while maintaining a clear focal point on the central figures through careful lighting and compositional balance.

Commissioned by Napoleon for display in the Tuileries Palace, the canvas was first exhibited at the 1810 Salon held at the Louvre. In 1835, it was transferred to the Palace of Versailles, where it remains part of the museum’s collection of Napoleonic-era artworks.

The Battle of Ratisbon was a decisive French victory over Archduke Charles’s Austrian army during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Gautherot’s depiction aligns with contemporary French efforts to glorify the emperor’s leadership, even in moments of physical peril, reinforcing the narrative of heroic resilience that underpinned imperial propaganda.

As one of several visual records of Napoleon’s wartime injuries, the painting contributes to the broader iconography of the emperor as both a military strategist and a figure of personal endurance. Its presence in Versailles situates it among state-sponsored artworks that shaped public memory of the Napoleonic Wars.