Tomb of Louis XVI and his family, with hidden silhouettes
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Plate: 13 1/4 × 8 3/4 in. (33.7 × 22.3 cm) Sheet: 17 3/16 × 11 9/16 in. (43.7 × 29.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Mary Martin, 1938
Accession Number
38.145.436
Tags
Art Historical Context
This poignant engraving, titled *Tomb of Louis XVI and his Family, with Hidden Silhouettes*, captures a somber moment from the French Revolution's turbulent aftermath. Created between 1793 and 1800 by engravers including Jean-Baptiste Genty and Claude Louis Desrais, possibly with anonymous contributions, it depicts the imagined tombs of King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette, and son Louis XVII. Produced on a modest plate (13¼ × 8¾ in.), the print belongs to a tradition of intaglio engraving, where intricate lines etched into metal plates allowed for detailed, reproducible imagery that spread ...
About the Artist
Louis XVII|Louis XVI, King of France|Marie Antoinette, Queen of France|Anonymous|Jean-Baptiste Genty|Claude Louis Desrais (French, born Austria|French| ) · 1755 |1785 | –1792 |1795 |
French (born Austria), Vienna 1755–1792 Paris|French, Versailles 1785–1795 Paris|