Buzz
No, Napoleon didn’t suffer from a stomach ulcer, breast cancer, or have a deformed hand, as some have suggested. Much like trends such as low-slung jeans or pet rocks, this pose with one hand hidden became a fashionable symbol of sophistication and breeding.
In her essay "Re-Dressing Classical Statuary: The Eighteenth-Century 'Hand-in-Waistcoat' Portrait," Arline Meyer points out that the hand-in-coat pose traces back to Ancient Greece, where it was recommended for orators. This pose was so prevalent in 18th-century England that it became a cliché, with some portrait artists even being criticized for relying on it when they lacked skill in painting hands.
However, Meyer explains, "in real life, the 'hand-in' stance was commonly adopted by men of distinction." In 1738, François Nivelon, the etiquette expert of the time, wrote in his book A Book Of Genteel Behavior that the hand-in-vest gesture represented “manly boldness tempered with modesty.”
Today, the 'hand-in' pose is closely linked to Napoleon, largely due to Jacques-Louis David's 1812 painting, Napoleon in His Study (which Napoleon never actually posed for, but was commissioned by a Scottish nobleman)—what Meyers refers to as the gesture's 'personalized revival in the nineteenth century.'
It's no surprise that when Napoleon's reputation faltered, the subtly raised posture of this gesture took on a more authoritative, imperial tone... The lasting French connection is actually quite ironic, considering the pose had been a fashionable portrait convention in England long before it became associated with Napoleon as a symbol of military power.
