# Why did Napoleon Bonaparte stick his hand in his shirt? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 20, 2012, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-napoleon-bonaparte-stick-his-hand-in-his-shirt/625718 "2012-06-20T04:54:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Victor\_Charlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7ea924/32.png) [@Victor\_Charlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Victor_Charlie)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-napoleon-bonaparte-stick-his-hand-in-his-shirt/625718/21 "2012-06-26T23:06:38Z")
Everybody knows it’s because he was a chronic masturbator. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-napoleon-bonaparte-stick-his-hand-in-his-shirt/625718/22 "2012-06-27T00:44:38Z")
[Since we are starting to get very silly](http://youtu.be/uK92NYwBMts?t=4m35s) ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-napoleon-bonaparte-stick-his-hand-in-his-shirt/625718/23 "2012-06-27T08:43:29Z")
Oh are silly replies ok now? I wanted to say it’s because he was making armpit farts. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-napoleon-bonaparte-stick-his-hand-in-his-shirt/625718/24 "2012-06-27T10:10:11Z")
The (probably apocryphal) story that I heard was that portrait painters would charge extra for hands. That theory falls down when you consider that, were that the case, a leader wishing to show his wealth would purposefully show his hands to demonstrate his wealth. Maybe throw some gang signs. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-napoleon-bonaparte-stick-his-hand-in-his-shirt/625718/25 "2012-06-27T20:27:01Z")
The traditional prestige pose was equestrian: mounted on horseback, your left hand holding the reins, your right hand holding a sword or a marshal’s baton. (Or, if you were royal, a scepter.) For a non-equestrian portrait, this presents the problem of what to do with your hands. A scholar might be depicted holding a book, or a surgeon holding a scalpel. But if both hands are occupied, it makes the painting look too “busy”, and distracts the viewer’s attention from the your face. Putting one hand in the waistcoat got it out of the way. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-napoleon-bonaparte-stick-his-hand-in-his-shirt/625718/26 "2012-06-27T20:34:56Z")
For the same reason that half the male portraits in my senior high school yearbook have the thumb and forefinger of one hand cradling the chin. That’s just the way it was done at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-napoleon-bonaparte-stick-his-hand-in-his-shirt/625718/27 "2012-06-28T04:10:11Z")
I read somewhere it was supposed to look like he was reaching for a pistol, or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-napoleon-bonaparte-stick-his-hand-in-his-shirt/625718/28 "2012-06-28T15:09:46Z")
I read somewhere that that hand was deformed so he was hiding it. But I guess that’s bunk now. ---
**Author:** ![Victor\_Charlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7ea924/32.png) [@Victor\_Charlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Victor_Charlie)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-napoleon-bonaparte-stick-his-hand-in-his-shirt/625718/29 "2012-06-28T22:38:29Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > For the same reason that half the male portraits in my senior high school yearbook have the thumb and forefinger of one hand cradling the chin. That’s just the way it was done at the time. So, what you’re saying is Napoleon went to Glamour Shots. ---
**Author:** ![Klaatu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Klaatu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klaatu)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-napoleon-bonaparte-stick-his-hand-in-his-shirt/625718/30 "2012-06-29T06:57:34Z")
A previous thread on the subject: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7143022&highlight=hand+shirt+napoleon#post7143022](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7143022&highlight=hand+shirt+napoleon#post7143022) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-napoleon-bonaparte-stick-his-hand-in-his-shirt/625718.md?page=1)