The Definitive Book of Body Language

The Definitive Book of Body Language

and everyone will describe a man with his hand tucked into his
waistcoat with his thumb pointing upwards and will probably
volunteer a theory or tell rude jokes about why he did it. These
include: he had a stomach ulcer; he was winding his watch; he
had a skin disease; that in his era it was impolite to put your
hands in your pockets; he had breast cancer; he had a
deformed hand; he kept a perfumed sachet in his vest that he'd
sniff occasionally; he was playing with himself; and that
painters don't like to paint hands. The real story is that in
1738, well before Napoleon's birth, François Nivelon pub-
lished A Book Of Genteel Behaviour describing this posture
'...the hand-held-in was a common stance for men of breed-
ing and manly boldness, tempered with modesty.' When
Napoleon saw the painting he said to the artist, 'You have
understood me, my dear David.' So it was a gesture to convey
status.
The history books show that Napoleon did not have this
gesture in his regular repertoire — in fact, he didn't even sit for
the famous painting that featured it - the artist painted him
from memory and added the gesture. But the notoriety of this
hand gesture highlights how the artist, Jacques-Louis David,
understood the authority that the position of the hand and
thumb would project.

Napoleon was 5'4" (1.64m) tall but those who see

the painting perceive him as over 6' (1.85m) tall.

How the Hands Talk

For thousands of years, the level of status people held in a
society would determine the priority order in which they could
hold the floor when speaking. The more power or authority
you had, the more others would be compelled to stay silent
while you spoke. For example, Roman history shows that a
low-status person could be executed for interrupting Julius