Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

The Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 (Prise de la Bastille le 14 juillet 1789)

1790
Not on view
The ambitious scale of this etching representing the storming of the Bastille is all the more remarkable considering that it is Thévenin’s only known print. It reprises his painting of the same subject, which he exhibited at the Salon of 1793. The artist deftly leads the eye through the composition with a brilliant use of light and shadow. He emphasizes the violence and bloodshed of this early revolutionary event with the dead and dying appearing prominently in the foreground. At the center, he shows the arrest of the Marquis Bernard-René Jordan de Launay, governor of the Bastille. The soldier rushing in from the right waving the flag of surrender makes clear that this moment marks a decisive turning point toward victory for the insurgents.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 (Prise de la Bastille le 14 juillet 1789)
  • Artist: Charles Thévenin (French, Paris 1764–1838 Paris)
  • Date: 1790
  • Medium: Etching
  • Dimensions: sheet: 16 15/16 x 24 1/16 in. (43.1 x 61.1 cm)
    image: 14 11/16 x 22 15/16 in. (37.3 x 58.2 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Bequest of W. Gedney Beatty, by exchange, 2008
  • Object Number: 2008.592
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
Guitar, Jean-Baptiste Voboam French, Spruce, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, ivory, ebony, French
Guitar
attributed to Jean-Baptiste Voboam
1697
Seated Giant, Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) Spanish, Burnished aquatint, scaper, roulette, lavis (along the top of the landscape and within the landscape)
Seated Giant
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
by 1818 (possibly 1814–18)
Ceramic Horn, Glazed pottery, French
Ceramic Horn
French
late 18th or early 19th century
Mountain Valley with a Plateau, Hercules Segers Dutch, Line etching, drypoint, and metal punch printed in blue-green, on a yellow-green ground, colored with brush; second state of two
Mountain Valley with a Plateau
Hercules Segers
ca. 1625–30
Study of a Seated Woman Seen from Behind (Marie-Gabrielle Capet), Adélaïde Labille-Guiard French, Red, black, and white chalk on toned laid paper
Study of a Seated Woman Seen from Behind (Marie-Gabrielle Capet)
Adélaïde Labille-Guiard
Sitter Marie Gabrielle Capet
1789

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.