Bal de la Bastille, 1790

Not on View

Medium

etching and wash manner, printed in blue, red, and black inks

Dimensions

plate: 40.2 x 31.9 cm (15 13/16 x 12 9/16 in.)

sheet: 52 x 38.8 cm (20 1/2 x 15 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Ivan E. and Winifred Phillips in memory of Neil Phillips

Catalogue Raisonné

Portalis/Beraldi 1880, no. 6

Accession Number

1999.77.1

Artists / Makers

Louis Le Coeur (artist) French, active c. 1784 - 1825

Jacques-François-Joseph Swebach-Desfontaines (artist) French, 1769 - 1823

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Inscription

lower left in plate: Swebach Desfontaines del.; lower right in plate: Le Coeur sculp.; lower center in plate: BAL DE LA BASTILLE / Ce fut précisément sur les ruines de cet affreux monument de despotisme que le Français célébra le premier anniversaire de la liberté. La / célérité des préparatifs de cette fête dut etonner sans doute, mais comment exprimer le sentiment qu'on éprouvait en lisant cette inscription. / Ici l'on danse / A Paris, chez l'Auteur, rue St. Jacques, No. 55.; by later hand, center left verso in charcoal: 40

Provenance

(William H. Schab Gallery, Inc., New York); gift to NGA, 1999.

Associated Names

Schab Gallery, Inc., William H.

Exhibition History

2003: Colorful Impressions: The Printmaking Revolution in Eighteenth-Century France, NGA, 2003, no. 82.

2012: Awash in Color: French and Japanese Prints, David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, Chicago, 2012 - 2013, unnumbered catalogue.

Bibliography

1880: Portalis, baron Roger and Henri Beraldi. Les graveurs du dix-huitieme siecle. 2 parts, 3 vols. each part. Paris, 1880.

2003: Colorful Impressions: The Printmaking Revolution in Eighteenth-Century France. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2003-2004: no. 82.