Primary Source
The Death of Robespierre
Annotation
This engraving, based on a color portrait by Beys, depicts the death of Robespierre on the guillotine. The executioners wear not the traditional hangman’s hood but red bonnets representing liberty. This judgment notes Robespierre’s failure to the Revolution itself. Contemporaries emphasized that Robespierre’s punishment was just because it was the same to which "he had condemned so many thousands of innocent victims."
Transcription
Title in French
La Mort de Robespierre
Credits
Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie, RESERVE QB-370 (48)-FT4
Collection de Vinck. Un siècle d'histoire de France par l'estampe, 1770-1870. Vol. 48 (pièces 6461-6583), Ancien Régime et Révolution