Opening van de Staten-Generaal in Versailles, 5 mei 1789 1793

Isidore-Stanislas Helman created this print depicting the Opening of the Estates-General in Versailles on May 5, 1789. This event, a convocation of representatives from the three Estates of pre-revolutionary France, was a pivotal moment of social and political upheaval. In pre-revolutionary France society was rigidly divided. The clergy and nobility enjoyed privileges that were denied to the Third Estate, which comprised the vast majority of the population. The Estates-General was convened in response to growing social and economic tensions, but the meeting ultimately failed to address the inequalities of the Ancien Régime. The print illustrates the spatial dynamics of power; observe how the representatives of the Third Estate are physically separated from and placed at a lower level than the nobility and clergy. As you look at this image, consider the individuals who are absent from this representation, the working class, and the rural poor whose grievances fueled the revolution. How does this piece capture a moment of both hope and inherent inequality?