French Constitution, Rights of Man and Citizen
Title
French Constitution, Rights of Man and Citizen
Description
This image of the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen includes a fascinating mix of symbols. By arranging the articles on tablets, the artist clearly meant to associate this document with Moses’ Ten Commandments. Such a link could establish the revolutionaries’ handiwork as equivalent to that of God. Reinforcing this is the all–seeing eye located at the top of the tableau. However, this is not the God of biblical revelation but of the Masonic order, which espoused a deistic vision of a benevolent creator and founder of general laws. This deity was not a worker of miracles. Thus the Declaration results from the actions of humankind, who enjoy the beneficence of the generous deity.
Creator
None Identified
Source
Museé de la Révolution Française, Vizille
Rights
All Rights Reserved
Relation
http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/55/
Format
JPEG
Language
French
Identifier
55
Original Format
Engraving
Title (French)
Constitution Française, droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen
Citation
None Identified, “French Constitution, Rights of Man and Citizen,” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOUTION, accessed December 5, 2024, https://revolution.chnm.org/d/55.