Question

Napoleon standing among a group of sick people. He has his arm extended to touch one of the people. The above painting is a depiction of Napoleon visiting victims of the bubonic plague. What occurred only two months after Napoleon had himself painted with the sick?

Option 1: Napoleon declared war on England because the plague originated there.
Option 2: Napoleon had them all executed.
Option 3: The people declared Napoleon their king.
Option 4: The people were provided with medical supplies by Napoleon.

Answer 1

Napoleon instructed the deaths of prisoners and the poisoning of his own troops suffering from the plague after the depicted event, belying the heroic portrayal in the painting.

Step-by-step explanation:

The painting Napoleon Bonaparte Visiting the Plague-Stricken in Jaffa by Baron Antoine-Jean Gros is a depiction of a legendary episode during Napoleon's campaign in Egypt where he visited his troops afflicted with the Bubonic Plague. In the months following the event presented in the painting, reality was much grimmer than the heroic image portrayed. Contrary to the options provided in the question, Napoleon actually ordered the death of the prisoners and poisoned his troops who were dying from the plague as he retreated from Jaffa.