1793 / 1851 Gillray Satirical Cartoon of the French Revolution

This is a 1851 George Bohn restrike of a 1793 James Gillray satirical, scatological print dealing with the French Revolution. Characteristically unsparing in his caricatures, Gillray's depiction is, like its subject, irreverent, shocking, and disturbing.

A Closer Look

This print is based on the actual event of the execution of King Louis XVI, which took place on January 21, 1793, a little over three weeks before its publication. At left is the execution stand and guillotine on Place Louis XV, renamed Place de la Révolution (later renamed Place Louis XVI and renamed again to its current Place de la Concorde). The woe-begotten king is surrounded by smiling executioners and a sea of sans-culottes. In the background, a church is set ablaze while a bishop and two priests hang from lampposts at right. A sans-culotte (whose pantaloons and other articles of clothing are tattered) sits fiddling, like Nero, on a lamppost with bloody daggers tucked into his belt. His bare bottom is perched above the lamp, suggesting perhaps the quality of the 'Enlightenment' being pursued by the revolutionaries. At right, Jesus looks distressed on the crucifix, with the words 'Bon Soir, Monsieur' above it.

Historical Context

It will come as no surprise that Gillray was a vociferous opponent of the French Revolution and any in Britain who supported it. Lambasting the sans-culottes and British radicals like prominent Whig MP Charles James Fox (1749 - 1806) was a favorite topic of Gillray's prints in the mid-1790s. The French Revolution was, of course, very concerning to the British monarchy and government as a whole. Prime Minister William Pitt put in motion numerous measures that restrained personal liberty, freedom of the press and association, and political protest, leading to the era's nickname among his opponents, 'Reign of Terror,' the same phrase used to denounce the Jacobins across the English Channel. In the end, these harsh measures proved unnecessary as British public opinion turned against the increasing violence and disorder of the French Revolution, especially following the execution of King Louis XVI (perhaps remembering the violence and disorder leading to and following the execution of their own king in 1649).

Gillray's Caricatures

Like many of Gillray's more profane caricatures, this one was suppressed shortly after it was published and is thus almost never seen in its original 1793 issue. The present example is George Bohn's 1851 restrike from Gillray's original plates, compiled under the title Historical and Descriptive Account of the Caricatures of James Gillray.

Publication History and Census

This etching was initially made by James Gillray and published by Hannah Humphrey on February 12, 1793. As mentioned above, it was suppressed shortly afterwards and then reprinted using the original plate in 1851 by George Bohn. Due to Bohn using the original plates and due to the original work being incorporated into some compilations of satirical prints, cataloging of this work is somewhat confused and examples that are likely from the 1851 restrike are often cataloged as being 1793 originals (distinguishable by the lack of a plate number at bottom-right and the inclusion of publication information at bottom-right, below the hanging priests). Regardless of printing, the work is held by Yale University, Princeton University, the Morgan Library and Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the British Museum, Cambridge University, the National Portrait Gallery (U.K.), and the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and it is listed among compilations held by Boston College and the New York Public Library.