Primary Source

The Voracious Oath

Print characterizing patriotic virtues

Annotation

This fascinating print is modeled on Jacques–Louis David’s Oath of the Horatii. In that famous painting, the artist sought to exemplify patriotic virtue by showing an austere father making his sons swear to defend Roman honor. Here this image turns David’s idea on its head, as aristocrats seem to be in league to some nefarious end. The woman on the right, quite unlike the approving, if resigned, female in David, shows her revolutionary disapproval through a forlorn expression.

Transcription

Title in French
Le serment des Voraces

Credits

De la Brosse (model)

Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie, RESERVE QB-370 (71)-FT 4

Collection de Vinck. Un siècle d'histoire de France par l'estampe, 1770-1870. Vol. 71 (pièces 9302-9376), Restauration et Cent-Jours

How to Cite This Source

"The Voracious Oath," in World History Commons, https://worldhistorycommons.org/voracious-oath [accessed March 29, 2024]