The distribution of the French army's new flags and standards at Longchamp Racetrack on July 14, 1880. Detail on soldiers

Edouard Detaille depicts the scene from the back of the officials' gallery, the only place where he was able to portray a front view of the military leaders in the direct afternoon sunlight. After the distribution of the flags and standards to the regiment delegates, the officers salute the President of the Republic before the closing ceremony procession.
In the gallery, we can see the group of officials, behind the President Jules Grévy, with Léon Gambetta, Speaker of the House of Deputies, and Léon Say, President of the Senate, on either side of him. To the far right, painter Ernest Messonier can be identified. Messonier was Detaille's teacher and is depicted standing with a long, white beard.
In the front row of cavalrymen, we can see General Farre, Minister of War. To his right is Marshal Canrobet, Dean of the Marshals of France.
The distribution of flags and standards to the army is always an important event in military life. However, the ceremony of July 14, 1880, in a newly rooted Republic, symbolized the renewal of the French Army in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870–1871. The regiments that were reestablished after the fall of the Commune had received a provisional flag in 1871. Their final emblem was only selected at the beginning of 1879, and it wasn't until the following year that the President of the Republic gave them the emblems, which are still used by the French army today.
Detaille's personal journal sheds light on the origins of the painting, from the commission offer received in early July 1880, to its completion in March 1881 in time for the Salon. Dissatisfied with his work, Detaille destroyed it and reworked the sketches to create an entirely separate painting, which was acquired by the State in 1885.