| The etching records Louis XVI's arrest in Varennes on June 22, 1791. The Assembly ordered Louis XVI to be brought back to Paris and sent envoys on his trail. The royal family was travelling at a very slow pace. Horses had to be changed regularly and it was in one of these stations at Sainte Menehould that the owner of the inn, Drouet, recognised the king. Learning shortly afterwards about the king's flight from Paris, Drouet on horseback caught up with and then overtook the carriage and alerted the local authorities of the next township, Varennes. When the royal family arrived in Varennes at nightfall they were asked to come down from the carriage for document checking. Installed in the shop of the grocer Sauce they were joined by the Assembly's envoys. A huge crowd surrounded the house and when royalist horsemen arrived it was too late to free the king.
(It is essential that the copyright-by-line of this artwork: Musˆme Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet appear next to the image.) |
