In the painting we see represented a military character similar to Napoleon standing on a kind of horse with normal hind legs but with a head and front legs in the shape of a hand, raising his index finger as if indicating something.
Located in the background we see a young man with a neutral face with a typical military drum singing and raising his hands in praise.

A clear landscape at sunset of some flat fields ends in the silhouette of a Cádiz that we could frame in the time of the French invasion and the Proclamation of the Constitution of 1812.

In each corner of the painting we see an elliptical sphere with a representation of Planet Earth.


What can the characters and the reflected scene mean?

Manuel RP wants to suggest the splendor and admiration that the exaltation of an idea can mean. The hand, which indicates an “idea or something” towards the sky, is directed by an armed Napoleonic figure who seems to express his personal fascination with controlling this same hand.
The recreation of the scene in a historical moment such as that of the French invasion, places it in the time of the Proclamation of the Constitution of 1812.
The humor of the scene brings us closer to the criticism of the contradiction that existed in that Napoleonic character who advocated an idea (at that time the liberal ideas of the Revolution) invading and destroying a country.

The character in the background seems to be the typical drummer in military parades, who is not armed, who sings and plays music. He is the blind follower of an enlightened narcissist exalted by an idea and willing to fight alongside the Great Contradiction.

The latent meaning that the author wants to offer does not discriminate at all against other underlying messages that the viewer of the work can interpret.

The four spheres located in each corner of the painting can suggest the image of a card game. The Joker is a privileged card in the game. The elliptical sphericity of the planets is a symbolic way of representing the earth seen in its entirety.


What relationship do they have with the History of Man and the History of Art?

Placing ourselves at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, we can get an idea of ​​the events that were emerging in that time full of contradictions and liberating ideas.

Regarding the style and choice of characters, the author has used works from the History of Art that represent that historical moment, mixing them with others that offer different interpretations. We find these resources at:

The painting “Napoleon crossing the Alps” by Jacques-Louis David.1805.
The painting “Liberty leading the People” by Eugène Delacroix, 1830.
The surrealism of Renè Magritte or Salvador Dalí.
The light of Goya's tapestries.
Conclusion

The author wants to make us reflect on the handling of idols in images and the representation of ideas.
How the icon or symbol (the person or image) is identified, sometimes contradictorily, with the idea it advocates.
A wake-up call and an opportunity to laugh at Art and sometimes at ourselves.