Day-Hickman: An Interpretive Study of Prints on the French Revolution

Pro-revolutionary compositions also portray heroic figures who endeavor to “turn the world upside down.” But they do so by adhering to principles of reason, virtue, and honor. Though some of the prints describe the courage of plebeian leaders in the face of an unruly crowd, the political message is one of underlying praise, not ridicule. Rather, the artist describes how revolutionary justice wins out against crowd disarray and transgression. The prints, “The Trait of Heroic Courage” [Image 22] and the “Arrest of Louis Capet at Varenne,” [Image 8] convey the triumph of heroism and self-sacrifice over crowd confusion and physical disruption. Such narratives as these highlight leaders and groups determined to defend themselves and their country against the corruption and disingenuousness of the ancien regime. Furthermore, in the “The Fourth Incident of October 5, 1789,” [Image 5] and “Place Vendôme: The Greatest of Despots Overthrown by Freedom,” [Image 11] the artists portray the revolutionary crowd as a reasonable and courageous force that successfully replaces the king or traditional patriarchal figures of authority with plebeian heroes or heroines. Such pro-revolutionary prints effectively shift the dramatic focus from traditionally elitist to populist power in a startling, but nonetheless orderly, manner.

One example, “The Trait of Heroic Courage,” [Image 22] describes the courageous stance of a republican matron who withstands the invasion of her rural homestead by counter-revolutionary insurgents. The theme of this sophisticated engraving corresponds with a popular gouache done by Etienne Le Sueur entitled “L'Héroine de Milhier” [Image 30] that depicts a stalwart peasant woman, with muskets in both hands, ready to shoot brigands who threaten her with imminent violence. As compared with the violent confrontation in the Le Sueur print, “The Trait of Heroic Courage” conveys a more restrained interchange between the unwanted marauders and the matron through the incorporation of a more balanced neo-classical perspective and a finer technical rendering. Though the threat of sexual or physical violence remains prominent in the narrative, because the men appear to be in retreat, the overall effect is less dramatic than the Le Sueur. Rather than focusing on the intruders, the viewer's eye is drawn to the courageous woman and her children, who are located to the center right and engulfed by light coming from the open door. The mother sits stoically in a virtually statuesque, classical pose, highlighted on a proscenium that extends from the intruders on the left, to the right corner of the infant's cradle. A small girl clings to her torso, while an adolescent pulls her arm as if vying for her mother's attention. The intertwined bodies of mother and daughters form a shield in front of the half-dressed infant lying in the cradle behind them. The family mascot stretches out and barks with forepaws propped on the barrel as if assuming the protective role of his absent master while the cat arching his back on the rear table conveys its disdain for the intruders by hissing. Initially, the woman appears to be stirring milk or cream with a ladle in one hand. On second glance, it is apparent that she brandishes pistols pointed at a barrel of gunpowder, prepared to blow up her family and home rather than yield to the marauders.

In displaying her determination to protect not only her own virtue but also that also of the republic, the image justifies the matron's armed defense of her domicile. With both pistols ready to fire, the surprised invaders draw back dismayed by her unexpected bravery. In response to her threat, the men lift their arms and turn to leave. A scale on the table to the left of the woman's shoulder suggests that the ensuing conflict with these intruders does not lead to revenge or mayhem, but ultimately to justice. This image is one of the few revolutionary prints where a heroine rather than a hero withstands a band of intruders to defend her home, family, and political allegiance. On a more symbolic level, the courageous woman could represent a domesticated version of Marianne, who courageously defended the popular revolution against militant opponents. 5 Further research suggests, however, that the narrative comes from a republican anthology about heroic figures from the revolutionary wars published in 1793 to inspire soldiers, political activists, and young school children with tales of revolutionary heroism.6 Whatever the precise reference, it is apparent from the image that a republican matron has “turned the tables” on the unwanted band of counter-revolutionary brigands.

The colored engraving “Madame Sans-Culotte” [Image 18] provides a critical counterpart to the courageous matron in “The Trait of Heroic Courage.” [Image 22] In contrast with the proverbial ideal of the “good woman” busy with her needle and distaff, “Madame Sans-Culotte” appears to be preoccupied with internal ruminations as she gazes off into the distance. Seated, her face illuminated by a fire beyond the frame of the print, she lets her needles and knitting drop onto her lap while she raises her left hand upward as if invoking a magical incantation. The cat on the table behind her, associated traditionally with witchcraft and magic, reinforces the threatening nature of her gesture by playing with the ball of yarn that has rolled off the table and onto the floor. 7 The elder woman does not embody the alleged sans-culotte model of thrift and resourcefulness; rather, she remains solitary and preoccupied in front of the makeshift privacy of a draped cloth. With the rope suspended behind her head and the yarn extended from her lap over the table and onto the floor, she could embody a spider waiting for her catch, while her cat suggests a parallel predator dallying with its prey. It is apparent that the artist deprecates the idle woman on multiple counts, in terms of her age, gender, and bizarre mannerisms. The artist likewise associates the woman with the legendary mob of “tricoteuses” who allegedly witnessed and celebrated scenes of revolutionary violence during the Terror.8 The title of the print “Madame Sans-Culotte” taken literally could also indicate a woman deprived of aristocratic “pants” or without access to men in power who wore “the pants.” The lack of “culottes” taken to mean female undergarments could also identify the woman as a harlot or whore. But the most obvious theme in the composition connects the crone with witchcraft and implicit sexuality. Without “pants,” the sans-culotte woman assumes illicit power through intrigue and magic.

The regularity and fineness of the metal lines in the engraving, the classical proportions of the woman's body and draped costume, and the subtlety of the print's coloring suggest that the composition was done by a well-trained engraver. But in contrast with the sophisticated rendering of the subject, the artist depicts a stereotypical female “tricoteuse” who witnessed and perhaps celebrated grisly scenes of revolutionary violence at the foot of the guillotine. The print thereby demonstrates the collusion of sorcery and female cruelty with the radical phase of the republican revolution. Through visual innuendo and historical allusion, the artist thus suggests the transgressive and malevolent intent of the sans-culotte woman.

5 Maurice Agulhon, Marianne au combat: l'imagerie et la symbolique républicaine de 1789 à 1880 (Paris: Flammarion, 1979): While the peasant character of the heroic matron is more apparent in the Le Sueur print than the more finished engraving, both images associate the protagonist with Marianne to bolster the righteousness of the protagonist's armed confrontation with counter-revolutionary forces.

6 Léon Bourdon, Convention National Recueil des actions héroiques et civiques des républicains français, #III (Paris: Imprimérie Nationale, 1793), 6-7: “La Convention nationale décrète que le Recueil seront envoyés en placards et en cahiers aux municipalities aux armies, aux sociétés populaires et à toutes les écoles de la république . . . et que les instituteurs seront tenus de les faire lire à leurs élèves.” 19: Note how a republican matron displays the courage of a neo-classical male hero. “Les enemis s'étant rendus maîtres de Saint-Milhier, une jeune femme entourée de ses enfants, étoit assise tranquillement dans la boutique sur un baril de poudre: elle renvoit deux pistolets à la main, disposée à faire sortir sa maison et toute la famille plutôt que de tomber au pouvoir des brigands. Son courage et cette mâle contenance leur en imposèrent, et son asyle fut respecté.”

8 Visual or textual references to the “tricoteuses” traditionally cast aspersions on women who participated in the revolution, particularly those who avidly witnessed grisly executions at the foot of the guillotine. For a more concise analysis, see Dominique Godineau, Women of Paris and their French Revolution translated by Katherine Streip (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998) 229-230. A sizeable collection of counter-revolutionary literature connected sans-culotte women with the Guillotine. Godineau explains that men evoked such cruel representations of revolutionary women as a defensive reaction to the feared loss of women's natural softness and reticence.