The Review at Châlons, 9 October 1896

In October 1896 the young tsar Nicholas II came to France on an official visit, a public celebration of the alliance Russia and the French Republic had sealed a few years earlier against the threat of Germany. Paris met him with parades, flags and the foundation stone of a new bridge over the Seine, named after his father, Alexander III. The visit closed on 9 October at the military camp of Châlons, east of Paris, where more than 80,000 soldiers marched past the tsar on horseback and President Félix Faure, who rode in an open carriage with the tsarina. The state commissioned Detaille to record the day in 1897. The canvas is more than five metres wide, a muddy road through thin autumn trees with regiments massed along both sides. It was shown at the World's Fair of 1900, and the signature carries two dates, 1897 and 1909.