Jacques-Louis David, The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812, National Gallery of Art, Samuel H. Kress Collection

Napoleon Bonaparte was the emperor of France in the early 1800s. Like many leaders at that time, he had his own palace. Great artists were asked to paint pictures of him. Napoleon's favorite artist Jacques-Louis David (PRONOUNCED ZHOCK LU-WEE DAH_VEED) painted this portrait in 1812.

There was no photography back then, so the only way we know how great leaders like Napoleon looked is through artists' paintings and drawings.