Tomb of Louis XVI and his family, with hidden silhouettes
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate: 6 9/16 × 4 1/2 in. (16.6 × 11.5 cm) Sheet: 8 1/16 × 5 3/4 in. (20.4 × 14.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Mary Martin, 1938
Accession Number
38.145.434
Tags
Art Historical Context
This anonymous etching, created between 1793 and 1800, captures the turbulent aftermath of the French Revolution through its depiction of the tomb of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and their son Louis XVII. Executed in the years immediately following the king’s execution in 1793 and the queen’s in the same year, the print served as a poignant memorial at a time when public expressions of royalist sympathy could be perilous. As an etching—a medium well-suited for wide distribution—it allowed for the quiet circulation of remembrance among those mourning the fallen monarchy. The work’s most intrig...
About the Artist
Anonymous|Louis XVI, King of France|Louis XVII|Marie Antoinette, Queen of France
In the vast tapestry of art history, "Anonymous" stands not as a singular individual but as a collective designation for countless unidentified creators whose works have endured across millennia. These artists, spanning prehistoric cave painters to medieval illuminators and folk craftsmen, produced the foundational layers of human visual culture. Prior to the Renaissance, when individual fame emer...