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The Storming of the Bastille, July 14, 1789

Charles Thévenin1790

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

Overtaking the Bastille, a fortress prison and symbol of the monarchy’s power, was a turning point in the French Revolution (1789–99). This etching of the successful rebellion is the only print made by the history painter Charles Thévenin. Typically, artists recorded historical events in paintings that printmakers then engraved with tools called burins, but in this case Thévenin drew his composition directly on the prepared etching plate, capturing a sense of the excitement he claimed to have witnessed firsthand. A newspaper announcement for the etching marveled at its capacity to expediently relate the emotional spirit of the revolutionary event, for which viewers would otherwise have to “await vainly from the cold burin.”

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  • Title: The Storming of the Bastille, July 14, 1789
  • Creator: Charles Thévenin (French, 1764-1838)
  • Date Created: 1790
  • Physical Dimensions: Sheet: 41.6 x 58.5 cm (16 3/8 x 23 1/16 in.); Image: 36.9 x 58.1 cm (14 1/2 x 22 7/8 in.)
  • Type: Print
  • Rights: CC0
  • External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2015.21
  • Medium: Etching
  • State of work: state I/II, proof before letters
  • Department: Prints
  • Culture: France, 18th century
  • Credit Line: Severance and Greta Millikin Trust
  • Collection: PR - Etching
  • Accession Number: 2015.21
The Cleveland Museum of Art

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