Louis XVI Entering Paris, October 6, 1789

1789

Not on view

One outcome of the Women’s March on Versailles was that Louis XVI conceded to bringing his court and the National Constituent Assembly to Paris. In this watercolor, Swebach depicts the arrival procession of the royal family through the city, with onlookers peering from every window and both revelers and protesters lining the street. The artist chose a symbolically fraught moment as the carriage approaches the gate to the Dominican monastery on the rue Saint-Honoré, which soon became the seat of the Jacobins after the nationalization of Church property the following month. Swebach, who also adopted the name Desfontaines, signed and dated this work in the banner hanging from the building at right.

Artwork Details

Title: Louis XVI Entering Paris, October 6, 1789
Artist: Jacques François Joseph Swebach (French, Metz 1769–1823 Paris)
Date: 1789
Medium: Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, watercolor and gouache, over graphite
Dimensions: 5 3/16 x 8 3/16 in. (13.2 x 20.8 cm.)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Purchase, Karen B. Cohen Gift, 1986
Object Number: 1986.309.2
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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