The Last Papal Assembly (La dernière assemblée papale)
Anonymous, French, 18th century French
Published by François Jules Gabriel Depeuille French
Not on view
The Treaty of Tolentino, signed in February 1797 after moths of negotiations with Napoleon, resulted in the confiscation of certain papal territories and the emptying of the papal treasury. In this print created during the negotations, Pope Pius VI, his cardinals, and several nobles cry so effusively at their plight that they sit up to their ankles in a pool of tears. The song inscribed below states that they are crying not for their sins but for their lost bishoprics ("Qui ne pleurent pas leurs péchés, / Mais qui pleurent leurs évêchés"). About a year later, in February 1798, soon after the invasion of Rome by Napoleon's troops, the short-lived Roman Republic was declared. As a result, the pope was forced into exile.
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