In the Couryard of the Hôtel de Ville, the Women Try to Hang the Abbé Lefevre, and the Men Begin to Burn Papers (5 October 1789) 1791

Curator: This engraving by Jean François Janinet captures a tumultuous scene: "In the Courtyard of the Hôtel de Ville, the Women Try to Hang the Abbé Lefevre, and the Men Begin to Burn Papers (5 October 1789)". It’s a compact work, only 13 by 9 centimeters. Editor: The immediate impression is chaos, all frantic energy swirling around a central, brutal act. You can almost feel the tension of the moment rendered in stark monochrome. Curator: Janinet, born in 1752, was documenting a pivotal moment, reflecting the intense social and political upheaval of the French Revolution. The act of burning papers signifies a rejection of the old order, literally dismantling the documents of power. Editor: And the women's actions, the attempted hanging, speak volumes about gendered roles in revolutionary violence. The image powerfully depicts the rage and desperation fueling such actions, hinting at intersectional struggles within the broader revolution. Curator: Considering the scale and the medium, Janinet’s engraving acted as a means of disseminating revolutionary ideals across the French population through accessible prints. Its materiality offered a tangible form to these complex themes. Editor: Absolutely, and thinking about the scene itself, it makes me reflect on how revolutions often consume their own. It prompts questions about who gets to control the narrative and who bears the brunt of revolutionary fervor. Curator: I find myself pondering the way printmaking democratized art consumption, enabling broader participation in revolutionary ideologies. Editor: And I see how the echoes of those tensions still resonate in our contemporary discussions about power, gender, and social justice.