The move of censorship, Eugène Delacroix, 1822

Satire celebrating the abolition of censorship; a devil drives a cart pulled by a struggling donkey, carrying an assortment of figures and symbolicobjects, representing censors, away from their headquarters which are now available for rent (indicated by the sign "maison a louer" nailed over the doorway); winged scissors (symbols of censorship) rise in the air; the identity of the censors is indirectly provided by a key: marie-joseph pain as a sugar-loaf ('pain-de-sucre') figure standing on a chair ('la chaise') representing lachaize; f. A. J. Mazure as a ruined shack ('une masure'); abbé barthélémy-philibert picon d'andrezel as 'extreme zeal' ("d'outre-zèle"); the academician rousselle as the popular character 'cadet-roussel'; the poet v. A. Vieillard as an old man ('un viellard' [sic]) wearing a cap and dark glasses; the ultra journalist of the 'la gazette de france' and president of the paris censorship bureau, jacques-honoré de lourdoueix as a heavy goose ("lourde-oye") perched on the back of the donkey ('anonyme' - ie. 'âne'); published in 'le miroir' on 11 february 1822 lithograph. Date: 1822. Dimensions: Height: 193 mm (image); ; Width: 315 mm (image). Medium: paper. Depicted People: Marie Joseph Pain. Collection: British Museum. Le déménagement de la censure (BM 1987,0516.37)