The French Revolution Digital Museum: 3D Gallery

The French Revolution

This digital museum will present several artifacts, important figures, aspects of society, & other fun facts about the French Revolution.

Louis XVI

This portrait portrays Louis XVI, the king of France during the French Revolution. Louis XVI was a fairly weak ruler, for he was indecisive & he paid barely any attention to government. Also, his wife, the queen Marie Antoinette, only added to his problems. She used up almost all of their money on gambling, jewelry, & other unimportant wants that only benefited her. Louis XVI’s poor leadership & his wife’s dreadful spending helped France into the French Revolution.

“Louis the Sixteenth, King of France and of Navarre,” Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/140. Accessed 11 December 2018.

Marie Antoinette

This is a depiction of Marie Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI who was depicted in the last exhibit. She is wearing very fancy clothing and her surroundings are very covered in flowers. She was one of the reasons that France went into heavy debt. She spent extreme amounts of money on lavish clothing and accessories. The people of France hated her for being Austrian and spending all this money. People in the second estate would have this image.

Procession of Refractory Clergy

This drawing shows the clergy of France during the French Revolution taking part in their final procession. The reason for their long noses is that the noses portray the clergy as liars (kind of like how Pinocchio’s nose grew when he lied) who were not a part of the people. Also, the satyr holding the coffin is a symbol of death.

“Procession of Refractory Clergy,” Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/6. Accessed 12 December 2018.

Nobility

This engraving is supposed to represent the nobility being superior to the people. It shows a 3-headed dragon (as stated above, representing the 3 states of the aristocracy) gobbling up a large group of people. The meaning of this is to show that the nobility stands superior to the 3rd estate, who is fighting for their rights during the French Revolution.

A three-headed monster designating the three states of the aristocracy deals with devouring the remains of the corpse of the people, whom they mercilessly swallowed up in their carnivorous bowels, is preceded by fanaticism with dragon quills and dressed in a garment. Monacal frock, it carries on astride on its back the pressing hypocrisy, a snake which distils its aristocratic poison: [print], [ca 1790]. 1 is. : etching, coul. ; 20.5 x 35 cm (trc) Notice and catalog number of the Bibliothèque nationale de France [Paris]. https://purl.stanford.edu/bg243cx2232. Accessed 12 December 2018.

Taking of the Bastille

This painting portrays the storming of the Bastille, which is now regarded as French Independence Day. After the National Assembly was locked out of its meeting place, its meetings took place in a huge, indoor tennis court. There, they took an oath stating that they would not separate amongst each other until the created a constitution supporting representative democracy. Eventually, Louis XVI sent massive military troops out to threaten the National Assembly. This caused the National Assembly to storm the Bastille, stealing gunpowder & weapons to defend themselves. This sparked the French Revolution.

François Denis Née (engraver), “Taking of the Bastille,” Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/63. Accessed 12 December 2018.

National Assembly

This is a drawing of a meeting of the National Assembly. This is a image of the meeting room which they were in before they were locked out and forced to the tennis court in which the famous tennis court oath was made. This image shows that the bourgeoisie were rich enough to get an elaborate meeting room in order to meet but still wanted to meet in order to obtain their status. This image is for record but people in the National Assembly would have this.

Unattributed. National Assembly Paris [print], May 1st 1790. 1 est. : aquatint, monochr. bistre; 10,5 x 16 cm (trc) Notice and catalog number of the Bibliothèque nationale de France London. https://purl.stanford.edu/zy644ty7062. (accessed 2018-12-13).

Louis Helping the Poor

Execution of Louis XVI

This is an image of Louis XVI’s execution. He was executed on January 21, 1793. The people of points of the French Revolution. The execution left the throne to Maximilian Robespierre who ruled until Napoleon’s rule. Maximailian Robespierre ruled the throne the way the people wanted. Louis is depicted with his family saying goodbye. France was very happy that this weak leader was executed. His death was one of the major turning points in the revolution. The revolution was free to go on after this execution. It was most likely not hung up but used for record

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The French Revolution Digital Museum