The Distribution of the Eagle Standards [SEP] creator
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
people beyond just family ties and across different classes, religions, and philosophical opinions.
After the republican government was replaced by Napoleon's imperial régime, David further deployed the gesture in "The Distribution of the Eagle Standards" (1810). But unlike his previous paintings representing republican ideals, in "Eagle Standards" the oath of allegiance is pledged to a central authority figure, and in imperial fashion. Boime sees the series of oath pictures as "the coding of key developments in the history of the Revolution and its