Napoleon Beach Cruiser

An alleged “early draft” of Jaques-Louis David’s famous portrait of Napoleon crossing the Alps, which recently sold at auction for $2 million, has turned out to be a forgery.

“To the untrained eye they may look identical,” said Dr. Henry Renauld, the authenticator who examined the piece. “But if you look closely, you begin to notice inconsistencies. For example, in the original, the cuff of his gauntlet is finely embroidered and the facing of the sleeve is completely covered. In the forgery, the embroidery is simplified, with the sleeve’s facing visible under the glove.

Also, said Renauld, in the original version, Napoleon is riding a horse, not a beach cruiser. And it was painted on canvas — not a t-shirt.