Sleutel op de prent: Toespraak van Lodewijk XVI 1796

This anonymous print from 1792 depicts Louis XVI addressing the National Convention. The image and accompanying text point to the fraught social and political conditions of revolutionary France. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the institutional and social upheaval of the time. We see the deposed king, once the embodiment of absolute power, now reduced to pleading his case before a legislative body. The artist emphasizes this reversal by depicting Louis not in royal regalia, but in simple attire. The text underscores the accusations against him, including the charge of shedding the blood of the people. This challenges the divine right of kings and embodies the revolutionary spirit of the era. Prints like these served a crucial public function, disseminating images and ideas quickly and widely. By examining pamphlets, newspapers, and other ephemera from the period, we can gain a deeper understanding of the social forces that shaped both the revolution and the art it produced.