Author(s):
lesueur, jean-baptiste (paris, in 1749 - plailly, in 1826), designer
other titles:
montjourdain imprisoned, writing to his wife, paris. (dummy title), the former abbot sicard (inscribed title (letter)), montjourdain. Commander of the st lazare battalion. (inscribed title (letter))
date of production: between 1792 and 1795
type(s) of object(s): drawing, graphic arts
name(s): drawing
dimensions - artwork:
height: 36cm
width: 53. 5cm
dimensions - mounting:
height: 50cm
width: 65cm
description:
set of 83 known revolutionary gouaches, including 73 preserved at the carnavalet museum. Marks, inscriptions, hallmarks:
legend - on the front of the old montage, under the left gouache, label with handwritten legend in ink: "he before [sic] abbot sicard. / he was denounced as a moderate by a revolutionary committee, he was arrested, and confined in the force, / on september 2 and 3 he was included without examination [sic], in the crowd of victims destined to perish in / these fatal days, already the arms are raised to hit him; when [sic] the watchmaker citizen monot / rushes! covers him with his body, exclaiming arrested [sic]! friends what are we going to do?. . . It's the citizen / sicard! the one who makes the mute speak, and the deaf hear!. . . Hit [sic] me if you want [sic] but spare [sic] / this useful man. The fury of the knockers changes into kindness. They take in their arms / the one they were going to knock out and carry him away, shouting long live sicard. \ inscription in ink
legend - on the front of the old montage, under the gouache on the right, label with handwritten legend in ink: "montjourdain. Commander of the battalion of / st lazare. / he was a young man full of merit; he was denounced / as a royalist, consequently arrested, and / condemned to be one of the victims of the terror. / the day before his death he wrote to his wife a / romance full of feeling and tenderness. ". \ inscription in ink
inscription - on the front of the old montage, handwritten label in ink: "41st sheet" \ inscription in ink
iconographic description:
scene: sicard roch-ambroise (1732-1822), scholar, institute of the deaf and dumb, refractory priest, sans-culotte, mr monot, watchmaker, acquittal / figure: montjourdain, officer, national guard, prisoner, letter, inkwell, medallion; french revolution. Historical commentary:
two unrelated episodes. Father sicard, saved at the last minute during the september massacres, is the educator of the deaf and mutes, successor to father de l'epée. All of lesueur's gouaches preserved at the carnavalet museum constitute a unique testimony to the revolutionary period. A sort of diary in images, the technique in which it is produced, as well as its scale, suggest a public, theatrical or "museographic" function. These small paintings and - a little differently - the texts which accompany them, reflect the varied feelings, sometimes enthusiastic, sometimes reproachful, of the parisian petty bourgeoisie facing the revolutionary event and daily life. Historical scenes, more innocuous skits, or isolated characters like military figurines are captured with liveliness, accuracy of observation, sense of color and layout which give them great flavor. The undeniable documentary interest of the series is particularly clear with regard to sans-culottes, the army, women, costume; but also mentalities and their evolution in the political situation of the years 1789-1806, and this with all the more force as the gouaches were painted immediately after the event or the fact that they represent. Acquisition mode: dation
name of donor, testator, seller: bidault de l'isle, georges
date of acquisition: 17–10–1977
institution: carnavalet museum, history of paris
inventory number: d. 9086. Date: between 1792 and 1795.
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