King, Queen and Dauphin of France
Not on view
Kay represents Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and their son Louis in low relief profile, facing left within a circle. His image derives from a portrait engraving of ca. 1791 that the French printmaker Augustin de Saint-Aubin based on a design by the sculptor Piat Joseph Sauvage. Many variations of that original were produced as mementos after the royal family were dethroned and, as if to underscore their changed status, no royal symbols appear. 1793, the year that Kay made his etching, Louis went to the guillotine in January, followed by his wife in October. Their young son, the putative Louis XVII, would survive in prison until 1795. Latin text inscribed below the portraits translates as "Thus passes worldly glory."