Terechtstelling van Lodewijk XVI op het Place de la Révolution te Parijs Possibly 1793 - 1799

This print, made by Isidore-Stanislas Helman, depicts the execution of Louis XVI in Paris. It shows a very effective use of the engraving technique to create a detailed image. The material of the print itself speaks volumes. Engraving, a method of cutting lines into a metal plate, was a labor-intensive process. Here, each figure, each stone in the buildings, had to be carefully incised to produce the image. Think about the labor involved, the hours spent bent over the metal, to produce an image that immortalizes the climax of the French Revolution. The act of engraving itself transforms the event, turning a bloody execution into a carefully crafted, reproducible image. This speaks to the revolutionary fervor for the values of reason, control, and public dissemination, all literally engraved into the metal. So, in this work, we see how the very process of making becomes a key to understanding its cultural significance, and the intense political passions of its time.