A companion to French art

Abstract

"Perhaps the most persistent trope of the history of the French Revolution has been its irresolvable bifurcation along political lines. On the one hand, the Revolution is seen to have inaugurated true liberty, the universal rights of man, and the modern democratic state. On the other hand, the Revolution was the scene of terror, state repression, barbarism, and death. Such a split was recounted at the time and has been re-told by generations of historians. Both positions have been the subject of truth and exaggeration, disavowing the complexity of the period's shifting allegiances and possibilities. Passing into caricature and myth, they have not only determined the path of revolutionary historiography but have shaped ideals about French identity writ large. Contemporary images have frequently been drawn into this conflict, as placeholders for partisan politics of various kinds. Yet, often, on closer inspection, the visual evidence is far from conclusive. Despite appearing to operate as transparent ciphers for oppositional political positions, in their form as well as their content, images from the 1790s frequently exposed the fractures and ambiguities of the Revolution and its aftermath, rather than its certainties"-- Provided by publisher.