Artwork
Journée du 16 Octobre 1793 [exécution de Marie-Antoinette]
![Journée du 16 Octobre 1793 [exécution de Marie-Antoinette], by Antoine-Jean Duclos, ink, 1794](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/antoine-jean-duclos--journee-du-16-octobre-1793-execution-de-marie-antoinette--73c01cea870190cc-w1024.webp)
Journée du 16 Octobre 1793 [exécution de Marie-Antoinette] is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Antoine-Jean Duclos. It dates from 1794 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Antoine‑Jean Duclos’s 1794 etching, titled Journée du 16 Octobre 1793, depicts the public execution of Marie‑Antoinette.
About this work
Overview
Antoine‑Jean Duclos’s 1794 etching, titled Journée du 16 Octobre 1793, depicts the public execution of Marie‑Antoinette. Rendered on laid paper, the print presents a densely populated square where a towering guillotine dominates the scene, drawing the viewer’s eye to the central figure of the condemned queen.
Subject & Meaning
The composition captures the spectacle of revolutionary justice, emphasizing the collective gaze of the assembled crowd and the presence of armed soldiers. Symbolic elements—a winged rider brandishing a sword and a figure bearing a scroll—underscore the ideological fervor and the message of state authority conveyed through the public death.
Technique & Style
Duclos employed the etching process, incising fine, decisive lines into a copper plate to achieve stark contrasts and a sense of immediacy. The sharp linear quality accentuates the tension of the moment, while the detailed rendering of architecture and figures conveys both the physical setting and the emotional intensity of the event.
History & Provenance
Created shortly after the queen’s execution, the print served as a contemporary visual record of the revolutionary episode. It circulated among the public and later entered museum collections, where it is valued for its documentary relevance and as an example of political printmaking during the French Revolution.
Artist & collection
