Vlagdrager 1789 - 1799

Jacques Louis Copia created this print of a flag bearer during the French Revolution, a period of immense social and political upheaval. The figure’s attire offers insight into the image’s meaning. He is dressed as a sans-culotte, the common people of France who became radical revolutionaries. The flag he carries is inscribed with “la liberté ou la mort” – liberty or death – a phrase popularized during the revolution to express one's devotion to freedom. Copia uses visual codes to associate the common revolutionary with virtue and patriotism. The print was made and circulated in a volatile climate. The French Revolution saw a major restructuring of art institutions like the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, and art became a tool for political expression. Historians can use prints like this one, alongside pamphlets, newspapers, and other ephemera, to understand how art shaped the revolution. We come to understand art not just as an aesthetic object but as a historical document.