Portret van Nicolas de Condorcet boven de dood van Condorcet in de gevangenis 1794 - 1818

This print by Charles Francois Gabriel Levachez memorializes Nicolas de Condorcet, capturing both his intellectual vigor and his tragic end. The portrait, framed in a classical roundel, presents Condorcet in profile, evoking the tradition of Roman portraiture and its associations with virtue and intellect. Below, a stark contrast: Condorcet's death in prison. Here, we see the intrusion of violence and the collapse of revolutionary ideals. Consider the visual echoes of martyrdom, reminiscent of Christian iconography. This scene parallels countless depictions of saints in their final moments, a visual language employed to enshrine Condorcet as a martyr of the Enlightenment. The image taps into a deep well of collective memory, drawing parallels between secular and religious sacrifice, inviting us to reflect on the cyclical nature of history and the enduring power of images to shape our understanding of the past.