| The painting records the execution of Louis XVI on January 21, 1793. The guillotine was standing on the Place de la Revolution. Louis looked at it calmly and climbed the steps without swaying. Once he reached the platform he tried to say a few words to the people but the drums muffled his voice and he was bound to the plank. At 10 hours and 22 minutes his head rolled and the executioner showed it to the public. The cry of "Long Live the Nation" was followed by a dull silence and the crowd dispersed without incident.
(It is essential that the copyright-by-line of this artwork: Musˆme Carnavalet / Roger-Viollet appear next to the image.) |
