ARMY’S NEW STANDARDS, JANUARY 1812

DAVID’S STUDIES FOR THE ARMY’S NEW STANDARDS, JANUARY 1812

"In January 1812, the Emperor ordered the creation of new standards, to be renewed every three years. He specified that they be made of a double silk, tightly woven and carefully embroidered. In response, the Comte de Cessac, “Ministre de l’administration de la Guerre” [Minister of War Administration], consulted Jacques-Louis David, the principal painter of the Empire period whose 1810 painting, The Distribution of Eagle Standards, had famously immortalised the ceremony of the army’s oath to the Emperor on 5 December 1804. The painter submitted several proposals, not only for the standards themselves but also for the eagles and for the uniforms of the standard-bearers. His drawings were accompanied by comments and suggestions written in his own hand..."

https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/paintings/davids-studies-for-the-armys-new-standards-january-1812/