The Reading of the Declaration of the Deputies

François Gérard's The Reading of the Declaration of the Deputies of 1836, depicting the July 1830 scene when Louis-Philippe was formally invited by the Chamber of Deputies to become constitutional monarch, serves as the founding historical image of the Orléanist regime. Gérard, who had successfully navigated the transition from Napoleon to the Restoration and then to the July Monarchy, was the natural choice for this commemorative commission. The painting translates a parliamentary constitutional moment into history painting's ceremonial vocabulary, making legitimate process visually memorable.

Gérard renders the political assembly with careful attention to individual portraits and the formal setting. The documentary style and precise rendering of the chamber interior serve the painting's function as a historical record.