Use Restrictions

Materials created prior to 1925 are in the Public Domain. These materials have no known restrictions.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Existence and Location of Copies

The entire collection is available online through the Broadus Bailey French Revolution Print Digital Collection.

Preferred Citation

Broadus Bailey French Revolution print collection, Collection C0072, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Broadus Bailey in January 2010.

Processing Information

Processed by Stacey Kniatt in 2010. EAD markup completed by Stacey Kniatt in March 2010.

Historical Information

The French Revolution began in June 1789 when the Estates-General signed the Tennis Court Oath, pledging to write a constitution. The king worried about their goals and safety, so he sent in the military to keep the peace. On July 11, 1789, King Louis XVI fired his finance minister, Jacques Necker, a favorite of the people. The people thought this meant a coup against the Assembly and began an open rebellion on July 12. On July 14, a Parisian mob stormed the Bastille fortress, a symbol of monarchical tyranny; they killed the governor, Launay, after the cease-fire and paraded his head around on a pike. The turmoil continued until the king went to Paris on July 17 to show his support.

While the National Assembly worked on a new constitution, the economic conditions in France, especially Paris, worsened. Women gathered in the market on October 5 and marched to city hall to have their demands heard. Not happy with the city officials' responses, the women marched to Versailles to see the king. To help calm the women, Lafayette convinced the king to move to Paris with his family. Over the course of the next two years, the National Assembly worked on a constitution. During this time, different factions struggled for power. Just before the constitution was finished in the summer of 1791, the king and his family tried to flee France. They were discovered in Varennes and returned to Paris, where he was forced to agree to a constitutional monarchy.

In another year, another faction would rise to power, abolish the monarchy, and declare a Republic. The new Republic declared a war on Austria and counter-revolutionaries led a resistance movement to the new government. Louis XVI and his family was arrested and Louis and Marie-Antoinette were executed, along with about 40,000 people during the Reign of Terror. The Thermidorian Reaction led to the arrest of Robespierre and an end to the terror. A new constitution was accepted and established the directory. This government saw the end of the revolution and the rise of Napoleon.

Jean-Louis Prieur, called the Young, was born in Paris in 1759 to a sculptor, designer, and engraver. An artist himself, Prieur the Young made more than sixty drawings of episodes of the Revolution, beginning with the unrest before the taking of the Bastille. He was arrested in Year III of the revolution and guillotined in 1795.

Pierre-Gabriel Berthault was born in 1737 and became an engraver. His greatest work was his cooperation with the "Tableaux Historiques". His name appears on over one hundred prints. He was called away to run a printing workshop for the Republic where he oversaw the formidable publication of "Description de l'Egypte". He died in 1831 in Paris.

Scope and Content

Print engravings of the French Revolution by Pierre-Gabriel Berthault (1737-1831). Berthault created the engravings from drawings by Jean-Louis Prieur (1759-1795). These images begin with the Estates General meeting before the Revolution officially begins and continues through until just after King Louis XVI is executed. Many of the prints illustrate pillaging, massacres, fighting, and important events in the Revolution, such as the taking of the Bastille, Louis moving his family to the Tuileries Palace, Louis XVI's flight to Varennes, and the execution of the King. Many of the key figures of the Revolution to this time can be found in several of the images, including Jacques Necker, King Louis XVI, Lafayette, Mirabeau, Marquis de Favras, and the Marquis de Launey. Some of the 82 prints appear to have been created by an artist other than Berthault, or perhaps appeared in a publication other than "Tableaux Historiques". The images measure approximately 18x24cm to 18x26cm.

Arrangement

Organized according to numbers found on the images.

Related Material

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution by the Center for History and New Media.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Berthault, Pierre Gabriel, 1737-1831
• Engraving
• France -- History -- Revolution, 1789-1799
• Prieur, J.-L. (Jean-Louis), 1759-1795