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Secondary sourcePaintingbetween 1799 and 1800

The Departure of the Girondins for the Scaffold

Jean Duplessis-Bertaux · between 1799 and 1800

An engraving by Jean Duplessis-Bertaux, made around 1799-1800, showing prisoners taken by cart to execution. It depicts the Girondin deputies of 1793, a faction Gouges supported.

Shows the Girondin deputies, the faction Gouges supported, on their way to execution, a scene of the political world she belonged to.

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Engraving of a crowded street scene with a tumbrel cart carrying prisoners in the foreground right, surrounded by soldiers on horseback, armed guards, and onlookers, with a large arched building and a dog in the scene. Caption text at bottom reads Duplessis-Bertaux inv. et del. and Duplessis-Bertaux aqua forti.
Jean Duplessis-Bertaux, Départ des Girondins pour l'échafaud, c. 1799-1800. Engraving, Wikimedia Commons.

About this source

What it is

This is an engraving titled 'Départ des Girondins pour l'échafaud' by Jean Duplessis-Bertaux. The print shows a crowded street with a tumbrel cart carrying prisoners in the foreground, soldiers on horseback, armed guards, onlookers, a large arched building and a dog. The caption reads 'Duplessis-Bertaux inv. et del.' and 'Duplessis-Bertaux aqua forti'. It is recorded on Wikimedia Commons.

Why it matters

Duplessis-Bertaux made this print around 1799-1800, several years after the events it shows. It depicts the Girondins being taken to execution in 1793. Olympe de Gouges was associated with this faction, so the print shows the fate of her political allies. Because the artist worked later, the image reflects how the Revolution was remembered, not only how it looked at the time.

Look closer

  • Who is placed closest to the viewer, and what does that choice suggest?
  • What clues show that this scene happened in a public street?
  • What does the print leave out, since it was made years after the events?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Olympe de Gouges on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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