Execution of Marie Antoinette (16 October 1793) at the Place de la Révolution

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/files/original/13175a64657a78ff33f27722b70ed8e7.jpg

Title

Execution of Marie Antoinette (16 October 1793) at the Place de la Révolution

Description

This postcard in English and French does show the broader scene at the execution of the Queen. Before the guillotine stands Marie Antoinette with Sanson, the same executioner who had dispatched her husband ten months before. Surrounded by soldiers, and tens of thousands of onlookers, she awaits the moment of death. Also on the platform is Marie Antoinette’s confessor. The execution, like that of her husband, took place at the Place de la Révolution, recently renamed from Place de Louis XV (currently Place de la Concorde). Dominating the entire scene was a giant statue of Liberty sitting on a pedestal that once held a statue of Louis XV. In Liberty’s right hand is a pike while she wears a Phrygian cap. This reshaping of the monarchical square seems quite consistent with the elimination of the Queen.

Creator

Isidore-Stanislas Helman (engraver)
Antoine-Jean Duclos (engraver)
Charles Monnet (designer)

Source

Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Date

1794

Rights

Public Domain

Relation

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/183/|Michel Hennin. <em>Estampes relatives à l'Histoire de France</em>. Tome 132, Pièces 11587-11673, période : 1793

Format

JPEG

Language

French

Identifier

183

Original Format

Engraving

Physical Dimensions

35.5 x 46cm

Title (French)

Journée du 16 Octobre 1793

Citation

Isidore-Stanislas Helman (engraver), Antoine-Jean Duclos (engraver), and Charles Monnet (designer), “Execution of Marie Antoinette (16 October 1793) at the Place de la Révolution,” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOUTION, accessed March 19, 2024, https://revolution.chnm.org/d/183.