The Distribution of the Eagle Standards
The Distribution of the Eagle Standards is an 1810 oil painting by Jacques-Louis David depicting a military ceremony in 1804 that was arranged by Napoleon after his assumption of power as Emperor of the French. In the ceremony, Napoleon sought to revive the military ethos of the Roman Empire.
The full French language title of the work is Serment de l'armée fait à l'empereur après la distribution des aigles au champ de Mars, 5 décembre 1804, which translates literally as "Oath of the army made to the emperor after the distribution of the eagles at the field of Mars, 5 December 1804".[1]
The painting is in the collection of the Château de Versailles.[2] It is on display there in the Salle du Sacre, which also contains David's second version of his Sacre de l'empereur Napoléon.
Background
The depicted event took place on 5 December 1804, three days after Napoleon's coronation ceremony. He distributed "eagles" that were based on the Roman aquila of the legions of Rome. The standards represented the regiments raised by the various departments of France, and they were intended to institute feelings of pride and loyalty among the troops, who would be the backbone of Napoleon's new regime. Napoleon gave an emotional speech in which he insisted that troops should defend the standards with their lives.
In early sketches of the painting, David included a winged figure of Nike, the goddess of victory, floating over the troops, but Napoleon objected to such an unrealistic feature. He also insisted that his wife Josephine be removed from the composition. He was preparing to divorce her, since she had failed to produce his heir.[3]
The final painting depicted the moment when Napoleon blessed the standards being held out towards him. Napoleon has his arm raised in imitation of ancient "adlocutio" scenes, which depict Classical heroes addressing troops. David's composition was heavily influenced by the friezes on Trajan's column.[3]
See also
References
- ^ Base Joconde: Reference no. 000PE005451, French Ministry of Culture. (in French)
- ^ Serment de l'armée fait à l'empereur après la distribution des Aigles, 5 décembre 1804, Château de Versailles.
- ^ a b Johnson, Dorothy (2006). Jacques-Louis David: New Perspectives. University of Delaware Press. ISBN 978-1611492835.
External links
- Serment de l'armée fait à l'empereur après la distribution des Aigles, 5 décembre 1804 – Château de Versailles
- An oil sketch for The Distribution of the Eagle Standards by Jacques-Louis David – Christie's
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- List of works
- Portrait of François Buron (1769)
- Jupiter and Antiope (1771)
- Minerva Fighting Mars (1771)
- Diana and Apollo Killing Niobe's Children (1772)
- The Death of Seneca (1773)
- Erasistratus Discovering the Cause of Antiochus' Disease (1774)
- The Funeral Games of Patroclus (1778)
- Saint Jerome Hears the Trumpet of the Last Judgment (1779)
- Saint Roch Interceding with the Virgin for the Plague-Stricken (1780)
- Portrait of Count Stanislas Potocki (1780)
- Belisarius Begging for Alms (1781)
- Christ on the Cross (1782)
- Andromache Mourning Hector (1783)
- Portrait of Alphonse Leroy (1783)
- Oath of the Horatii (1784)
- The Vestal Virgin (c. 1787)
- The Death of Socrates (1787)
- Portrait of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and his Wife (1788)
- The Loves of Paris and Helen (1788)
- The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons (1789)
- Portrait of Madame Pastoret (1791)
- Lycurgus of Sparta (1791)
- Portrait of Philippe-Laurent de Joubert (c. 1792)
- Portrait of Madame Marie-Louise Trudaine (1792, unfinished)
- The Death of Marat (1793)
- The Last Moments of Michel Lepeletier (1793, lost)
- The Death of Young Bara (1794, incomplete)
- The Tennis Court Oath (1794, incomplete)
- Self-Portrait (1794)
- Portrait of Pierre Seriziat (1795)
- Psyche Abandoned (1795)
- The Intervention of the Sabine Women (1799)
- Portrait of Madame Récamier (1800)
- Portrait of Cooper Penrose (1802)
- Napoleon at the Saint-Bernard Pass (1800–1805)
- Portrait of Pope Pius VII (1805)
- Napoleon in Imperial Costume (1805)
- The Coronation of Napoleon (1807)
- Sappho and Phaon (1809)
- The Distribution of the Eagle Standards (1810)
- Portrait of comte Antoine Français de Nantes (1811)
- Napoleon in His Study (1812)
- Leonidas at Thermopylae (1814)
- Cupid and Psyche (1817)
- The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis (1818)
- The Anger of Achilles (1819)
- Mars Being Disarmed by Venus (1824)