The Tragic End of Louis XVI

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/files/original/15473831f329c53fbc518dde668e526e.jpg

Title

The Tragic End of Louis XVI

Description

As 80,000 crowded into the square to watch the execution of Louis XVI, they cannot have been unaware that the guillotine sat where a statue of Louis XV had been. Here Sanson, the executioner, snatches the detached head of Louis XVI to show to the crowd. He leans forward with approving eagerness. If the head of the King was the most recognizable old regime symbol, then the demise of that symbolic system becomes now complete. Waving on a pike, facing the King, is a Phrygian cap, now no longer placed on his head, as in other prints. In this way the engraver indicates a final severance of a complicated compromise.

Creator

Clausner

Source

Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Date

1793

Rights

Public Domain

Relation

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/16/|<span>de Vinck. <em>Un siècle d'histoire de France par l'estampe, 1770-1870</em>. Vol. 31 (pièces 5142-5251), Ancien Régime et Révolution</span>

Format

JPEG

Language

French
German

Identifier

16

Original Format

Engraving

Physical Dimensions

14 x 19.5 cm

Title (French)

Fin Tragique de Louis XVI

Citation

Clausner, “The Tragic End of Louis XVI,” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOUTION, accessed March 28, 2024, https://revolution.chnm.org/d/16.