The Bravery of Parisian Women on October 5, 1789 1789 - 1794

Jacques-Philippe Caresme created this print, The Bravery of Parisian Women on October 5, 1789. The monochromatic composition, confined within an oval, captures a moment of revolutionary action, with women at the forefront. Caresme uses line and form to create a dynamic scene. The figures, though small, are rendered with a sense of movement and purpose, from the woman brandishing a sword to the man standing over a fallen body. The scene’s structure is reminiscent of classical battle scenes, yet Caresme destabilizes this tradition by placing women in the roles of heroic actors. He challenges established gender roles, suggesting women as powerful agents of historical change. Notice the way Caresme employs the print medium to disseminate revolutionary ideologies. The graphic nature of the print makes it easily reproducible, allowing the image and its message to reach a broad audience. The formal choices in this work, from its composition to its dissemination, reflect and shape the socio-political currents of the French Revolution, capturing a moment of radical transformation.