"Manuel's Tomb" from The Songs of Béranger 1829

"Manuel's Tomb" by François-Louis Français is a lithograph, an image made with ink on a flat stone matrix, likely printed in multiple impressions for inclusion in a book of poetry, "The Songs of Béranger." The lithographic process allows for intricate detail, visible here in the dense foliage and symbolic imagery. Note the broken chains and discarded crown at the bottom, suggesting a shift in power, as well as the central scene of speakers addressing a crowd. Lithography enabled the wide distribution of images, thus democratizing both art and political messaging. The labor is in the execution of the stone, the registration of each print, and the sheer reproduction of the image. Such processes made images far more accessible, embedding them in the social and political life of the time. By considering the lithographic process, we can appreciate how this work not only reflects its era but also participated in shaping it.